What if the true hero had survived
by snive
Summary: Snape has survived from Voldemort's attempt to kill him. He and Harry finally realise that there's something deeper between them.  J.K. Rowling owns the characters.  Warnings: slash, mpreg  My first story ever. Be very gentle :  It's my NaNoWriMo fic.


JK Rowling owns the characters.  
>Warnings: NC-17, slash, mpreg<br>Pairing: Severus Snape, Harry Potter  
>This is my first fanfic ever so be gentle.<p>

**What if the true hero had survived**

**Prologue**

Ever since I met Harry Potter for the first time I was forced to make sure he wasn't being hurt. I didn't like him at all and he was too much like his father. Arrogant and lazy brat with no talent in anything. I never would have quessed he would save my life one day.

It would have been Potter's 7th year at Hogwarts but he wasn't there. I heard he was doing some duty for Dumbledore, who of course was dead already and I replaced him as a headmaster. I never knew what a terrible job it was going to be like.

It was one of my sleepless nights and I was sitting in the headmaster's office. I was wondering where Potter was and what he was doing right now. He must be endangering his life just like before when he still was at Hogwarts. I was wondering why Dumbledore let him do all those things by himself and not helping him if he wanted to keep Potter alive.

I hadn't slept properly since last summer after killing Dumbledore. I felt quilty although we had promised that I will kill him in order to Voldemort keep his faith in me. Killing Dumbledore would have sent me to Azkaban immediately. Voldemort had managed to slip one of the Death Eaters into the Ministry of Magic so I didn't end up there.

**Dumbledore's demise**

I still recall the day when killing Dumbledore very well. I had just finished the last lesson of the day and went to my office. I knew what I had to do that night. I had heard Dumbledore and Harry Potter had gone somewhere but had no idea where.

Suddenly I heard a knock on my door and I called the person in. Draco Malfoy peeked from the door and asked to come in. I invited him in. I already knew the Dark Lord had ordered him to kill Dumbledore. The headmaster had told me after a long discussion about Potter and revealing him some important things.

Malfoy sat on a chair on the other side of my desk and sighed.

"You propably know I have to kill Dumbledore tonight, don't you professor?"

"Yes, I know. The Dark Lord had ordered you to do it and I still say that I'm willing to help you as I told you last winter. ", I said calmly.

"And you know I still don't want any help. The Dark Lord ordered me to do it and I will do it to have him praise me. I want to follow his orders and am not going to let him down."

"I heard you were going to bring some other Death Eaters with you"

"Yes, I have been learning to use the vanishing cabinet in the room of requirements to bring them in"

Damn that boy looked proud of himself managing to make it. That cabinet has been broken for years. Headmaster had put it in the room of requirements after realising how dangerous it can be when misused. Now it's been proved. A bunch of Death Eaters will storm in to the school through the very same cabinet tonight in order to kill the poor headmaster. Even though his life is at it's end it feels too insane to do it.

"...And then we'll run like hell to the border of Hogwarts and disapparate", said Malfoy. Hmh, I missed something he had said. Must have been too much in my thoughts.

"Sorry, I must have missed what you said. Can you come again?", I asked.

"Oh, it's so late. Need to get ready and bring the Death Eaters in.", he waved at me and left the office. What did just happen. I hope I didn't miss anything important.

For the first time in ages I let my tears go down my cheeks. This really wasn't something I wanted to experience. I had killed many many times before but killing the one you work for and have been loyal to, isn't that easy. I covered my face in my hands and leaned on the table. I cried out loud.

I must have fallen asleep crying. I woke up half an hour later and realised it was nearly time to go to the astronomy tower to meet Death Eaters and Dumbledore. I picked up my wand and left my office saying goodbye to it after spending years in it when still teaching here. I knew I might become the next headmaster so the office would change.

I walked to the stairs leading to the tower. I already heard some noises from there. Clearly Dumbledore and Harry had arrived back and Dumbledore was discussing with the Death Eaters. When I was nearly upstairs I heard Draco trying to explain about being a Death Eater and having to kill Dumbledore. The latter one seemed to resists and suggesting Malfoy boy still had a long life ahead and may not be wanting to spend the rest of it in Azkaban. The other Death Eaters persuaded Draco to finish him fast.

I didn't see Harry Potter there but I knew he must have been there watching all these people in shock. I walked beside Draco and faced Dumbledore. I managed to keep my face straight although it was full of sadness towards Dumbledore's fate and full of anger towards the Dark Lord wanting me to kill him.

"Severus. Please" begged Dumbledore.

I knew what he meant. It was time for him to come to the end of his life. I gulped and cursed him with Avada Kedavra. Watching him falling down from the tower felt insane. Now I had done it and there was no way going back. I was doomed from now on. No one would ever believe the reason for killing Dumbledore.

I just stood there and suddenly Draco was dragging me to the stairs. I realised we had to get out of there quick. There was no time for explanations. When running down the stairs I heard another pair of running legs behind us. It must be Potter. So he certainly was there. When passing the Great Hall some of the Death Eaters had fun breaking everything ahead of them. I told them to quit it and run as fast as they can. When stepping outside I had to glance to the ground where the unmoving body of the former headmaster was lying. A bunvh of staff and students had already gathered there. They luckily didn't run after us. They didn't know yet, how Dumbledore had died. Well, they'll know soon enough.

When getting closer to the borders of Hogwarts we reached the Dark Forest. Harry Potter kept running after us. Suddenly he was trying to curse me. He didn't know anything about the background so I just blocked his curses. If I had wanted to curse him I could have done that but I had promised Dumbledore to keep him safe. And besides there was something about him that should not be killed in any way.

Potter tried even more and called me by names. I managed to block his Sectumsempra and realised where he had found all those curses he tried to use on me. That's where my old school book had ended up. I never should have let it slip there. After Potter failing his curse on me, I managed to tell him who the Half-Blood Prince was. He was stunned but I only turned around and ran to the borders and managed to disapparate.

**The ministry and the new headmaster**

After people had heard me being the one who murdered Dumbledore, I was on the wanted list in the ministry. One day I was at home trying to keep low profile for not wanting to go to Azkaban. I once managed to miss the trip there as Dumbledore was on my side and told the ministry he had faith in me. But now there was no Dumbledore to save my skin.

I heard a loud bang and the door fell open and soon I was stunned with spells. All went black and next time I woke up I was tied to a chair and realised I was in a courtroom in the ministry of magic. So they found me after all. And now I'm supposed to be paying for killing a man who wanted me to kill him. A group of Aurors were surrounding me. I recognised Lupin and Tonks. I had no idea who the others were. They looked away from me and the judge arrived.

"Severus Tobias Snape. You have been brought here this morning by a group of Aurors. Your wand has been taken away from you and you will be bound until the court is over. You have been convicted for killing Albus Dumbledore, the former headmaster of Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry. You have been convicted once before for being a Death Eater. That time Albus Dumbledore saved you by relying on your quiltiness. I think the situation is quite clear and you're sentenced to spend rest of your life in Azkaban as you have no evidence..."

"He actually has." came a familiar voice from behind me. It was one of the Death Eaters who had managed to get into ministry. I don't recall his name but I was sure this court wasn't over yet. "We have a by-viewer of the incident and he will give his word" I was already hoping that it would be some not-well-known for being a Death Eater. But not Potter, I hope.

"Draco Malfoy, step forward and give your evidence". No no, not Draco. He was the second person I didn't want to see here. Potter is worse, but not Draco, please. I bit my lip and nearly started to laugh for the absurd situation. But thinking about Azkaban faded my smile away.

"I was there in the astronomy tower of Hogwarts school the night headmaster Dumbledore died. He had just arrived back to school with Harry Potter from a trip and he seemed to be really exhausted. Mr. Potter went to fetch the school nurse Pomfrey to help the headmaster." How on earth does he come up with this story? The only truth is that Potter arrived with Dumbledore and that the headmaster wasn't in that good condition.

"The headmaster must have been leaning on the rail on the wall of the tower as he seemed to fell over and lose consiousness. We tried to hurry after him but he fell on the ground of the courtyard."

"I'm sorry to disturb you, mr. Malfoy. But could you explain what you and mr. Snape were actually doing in the tower?" Well done, Draco. Now we have a problem.

"We heard about the trip and the time when they would be back. We wanted to go and help them and see what had happened. Professor Snape is so skilled at potions so we thought he might be needed to give some medical help before leaving the headmaster to nurse Pomfrey" No way. They're not going to believe anything you say. That's just ridiculous.

The Death Eater beside me gave a glance to Malfoy to make sure that was all he wanted to say. At least there were no by-viewers to convince the murder. Beside Potter. Where on earth is he?

"Very well. All those in favour of conviction, raise your hand" Nearly a half of the court raised their hand. Nearly.

"And those in favour of giving up the charges". And the rest of them raised their hands. Only by few voters I wasn't convicted. I sighed in relief. How was this possible. The jugde for sure wasn't a Death Eater. This time the evidence was given by another Death Eater but I still managed to set myself free. If Malfoy hadn't been there I'd be on my way to Azkaban soon.

"Mr. Malfoy. Could we have a word, please?" I asked.

"Sure, professor. Anything" I pulled him aside and waited for all the people to leave the courtroom. When we were all alone there I had a chat with Malfoy.

"You know all that you said was really not so convincing. How did you come up with the whole story? You know I should have been sent to Azkaban. I did kill him but you wouldn't understand if I gave you the reason."

"I wanted to give you a chance. You're not a bad person. I know there's some reason for killing the headmaster. And I understand if you don't want to tell it." Malfoy says.

"Thank you for everything you did for me today, mr. Malfoy. I did really appreciate it. Some day you will understand more. I suppose we'll meet soon as the Dark Lord is gathering his forces again for the battle with mr. Potter" I said and gave him a small smile. Then I left the ministry to go back home to wait for the next Death Eater meeting.

My house is dark and cold just like its owner. I really do like it after all. I have collected tons of books there and the house is lit by oil lamps and candles. I sat on my bed and threw my shoes off. I was really tired and fell asleep quite easily.

After a couple of hours of a nap I woke up when I heard a knock on the door. Not Aurors again, I hope. Well, I guess they would have stormed in instead. I went to open the door and got surprised to see the Death Eater who brought Draco in behind my doorstep.

"I just came to tell you, mr. Snape that congratulations for winning the case. Mr. Malfoy agreed to help you immediately. The other thing I wanted to say is that the Dark Lord wants to have the next meeting next saturday at 6 pm. He decided it wasn't reliable to call us by touching the dark mark"

"Ok, thank you for the information. We'll see you there then."

"Bye"

He really scared me. At least now I know when to meet the Dark Lord next time. I didn't want to do this job for a long time. I was more like forced to become a Death Eater. I had no friends and everyone teased me. Amongst Death Eaters I could feel like being one of them and not some outsider. After a while I didn't want to see my wand killing more people day by day. It was a horror to see people die. I was forced to do that as I still had to work for Voldemort to find new information about his movements to Dumbledore. Now I think I must have been insane when joining the forces. Thanks to Lucius Malfoy who introduced me to Voldemort and his followers. Not mentioning his son who also became one of us. And I had no choice whether to work for Voldemort or not. I had promised I'd do anything to keep Harry Potter safe. I had to know what his enemy was up to.

On friday I had a bit of a panic what will happen. Everyone knows I killed Dumbledore but what if someone suspects something. In the evening I sat in my bath and fell asleep dreaming of better days without this stupid Death Eater thing. Sometimes I hope this was just a nightmare and I would wake up soon.

It was saturday soon and I was trying to find my cloak and realised I must have forgot it in the school. I had gotten so used to my long and bat-like cloak during the years. I hope to find it there one day. So now I only had to find my travelling cloak. It had gotten dursty in my wardrobe. I had been using my teaching robes so much I had already nearly forgotten I had other cloaks, too.

Instead of apparating to the Malfoy Manor, I decided to fly there. The Dark Lord had taught me to fly without a broom years ago. I haven't had a chance to use my skill for ages. Now it was time to give it a try again.

I checked the clock on my wall and it was time to leave to the Manor. I was relieved to fly there. Feeling the chilly air blowing and not having to sit on an uncomfortable broom. I got used to using spells to enter the gates. The manor was sealed properly in case someone entered it accidently. The Dark Lord might not have been pleased.

I went inside and met a bunch of Death Eaters. Voldemort was sitting at the end of the table and asked me to sit down. I sat down and checked all the people present. All three Malfoys were there and the man at the courtroom and about 20 of other Death Eaters.

"I want to welcome all of you here. We are here to discuss about the future of Hogwarts". Yes, that must have something to do with me. "First I want to thank our Severus for bringing headmaster Albus Dumbledore down last spring". A huge applause was recieved. I went pale for remembering the incident.

"The ministry of magic has taken over the school and is about to invite new teachers there. Also, we need a new headmaster". This means me, I'm sure. No sane person would want to take over that job. "We have been discussing that Severus could take that job. We have very powerful control over the ministry and there will be no problem. As Severus managed to skip the trip to Azkaban, he must have a chance to make it." I knew this was about to come.

"We need you to do it. Harry Potter might enter the school and there must be someone influential to get him and bring him to me. Severus may bring us news from the school. You have been a good and faithful servant there. We need you to continue giving us information what happens inside those walls."

"I will do it, my Lord."

"That's very good, Severus. You never let me down. Now we only need someone from the ministry to get him to be the headmaster. I believe you might be able to help him, Pius" Voldemort was referring to the man who was at the court.

"Definitely, my Lord", he said with a shaking voice. He really seemed to be scared. The only reason I wanted to be the headmaster was for keeping Harry Potter safe if he entered the grounds. Now I had no other choice. By knowing the power of Pius towards ministry, I knew for sure.

**Back to school**

Before the start of the year we had another meeting with Death Eaters and Voldemort. Harry Potter was being moved from the house he grew up in to the safe house that was the new Burrow after the previous one had been burnt down by Bellatrix and Fenrir Greyback. There were different rumours about when Potter would be moved. I had no other choice but give the Dark Lord the correct information about the date. I had to keep Voldemort's faith in me. We attacked altogether on the day Potter was moved. Later I heard Mad-Eye Moody had been killed and Potter's pet owl too.

Somehow Potter's wand had fought against Voldemort by itself after Potter losing consiousness and Voldemort didn't get another chance to attack. I heard them talking about it after the attack. I only tried to disarm another Death Eater but hit one of the Weasley twins and now I had even worse reputation amongst the good side.

I didn't hear anything more about the others before the school started. I arrived at the school a few days beforehand. I met some other teachers who also were present at the time. They either shouted curses at me or gazed angrily. I knew this year wasn't going to be an easy one. People hated me for what I had done. I also heard two Death Eaters, the Carrow siblings were about to teach here and were responsible for detentions. I knew those two. They were really brutal and like physical punishment. The students are going to have a hard time and I have no chance to give my opinion about letting them teach students. The Dark Lord might suspect something.

I sighed and stepped under the moving staircase leading to the headmaster's office. I gave the gargoyle statue guarding it, a new password to get in. I didn't want any students in and some might remember the previous one.

I entered the office with no sight of the Phoenix, that used to live there with Dumbledore. Only pictures of former headmasters were moving. Many of them frowned at me. They knew I was the new headmaster but only one seemed to respect me, Albus Dumbledore.

"Good evening, headmaster Snape," called Dumbledore happily.

"Doesn't seem that good to me," I told him. "All the teachers seem to hate me for being the new headmaster. And I don't trust into Carrows at all. The students are going to suffer."

"Now now, Severus. You know there's nothing you can do about them. You'd lose your credibility. Now, before going to start the new term. I have a mission for you. I'm sure you remember the sword of Gryffindor hanging on the wall of my office?", asked Dumbledore.

"Yes, I recall it being there and it still seems to be there"

"You know that it's a fake one? In the evening of my death, Bellatrix Lestrange manage to enter my office and replace the real one with the fake and take the real one to her vault in Gringotts. The other headmasters here told me about it. Madame Lestrange seemed to be so proud about stealing it that she slipped something about Gringotts when leaving the office. I heard about it later when arriving in this portrait. It must be the Gringotts where she hid it. I have a clue why it is there but we'll get to that later."

"And I have to go there and get the real one back?"

"Yes, before the term starts. I leave it up to you to find out your way there. I'll explain later what you shall do with the real one." And so he disappeared from the portrait. I looked puzzled. I had no idea how to get the sword back.

**The Gringotts**

I needed a good night's sleep before planning anything. Maybe I should just go there and see what happens. The goblins at Gringotts aren't that easy to be fooled with something like a potion. But first I slipped into my pyjama and sat on my bed. This can't be true. I'm the headmaster and no one respects me. I'm here only to save Harry Potter's life and at the same time to make hell of people's lives inside this castle. I can cope with saving Potter's life but not torturing students and staff.

The next morning I was sure I had time to think about what to do when I get there. I had found my teaching cloak yesterday. It was still in the wardrobe of the teachers' office. I had already missed it. It needed a wash after the summer but I didn't have time to care about it and put it on. The headmaster had the special priviledge to disapparate and apparate within the grounds of Hogwarts. No one else did. So I thought I'd give it a try. Soon I was standing next to Leaky Cauldron. I stepped inside and asked for a room in there. The owner was used to all kinds of customers so I guess he didn't start wondering when I stepped inside.

I hid the fake sword under my bed just in case someone might enter the room and find it lying around. I took off the cloak and went downstairs. I was really hungry as I hadn't been eating well for a while now. I had some roasted beef and potatoes. I barely managed to eat it all. I had lost quite a lot of weight during summer and eating so much wasn't easy.

If I had known what was ahead I might have prepared some polyjuice potion and transform myself into some Death Eater to enter the vault. I gathered some glances when walking towards Gringotts. I tried to keep my head up and concentrate only on reaching Gringotts.

Suddenly I heard the voice of Lucius Malfoy who had managed to get out of Azkaban this summer. He was wondering what I was doing in Diagon Alley. I told him I had urgent business in Gringotts and turned around to leave. He stopped me and told me about how he managed to escape. Somehow he managed to curse the Dementors and run like hell. Curse, oh yes. I had my wand with me so I could use imperius on someone there and let them lead me to the vault. I told him it was really nice that he told me but I had to hurry. I left Lucius standing there looking at me storming away.

I arrived at the Gringotts and headed to the entrance to the gates leading to the vaults. I had been there a couple of times for Hogwarts business. The goblin sitting behind his desk looked at me curiously.

"It's very unusual to see mr. Snape here. What can I do for you, sir?"

"I wish to enter one of the vaults"

"And which one is it, may I ask?" I told him the number of the vault.

"Hm, the vault of Madam Lestrange. I heard her talking about someone from the Voldemort's army to enter the vault. But she didn't tell me who it was." Oh, thank God, I don't seem to need to use the imperius curse. I hate that one, actually. It's not gentle curse, making people do what they'd never do.

"So I assume it must be you. Although we don't appreciate what you did to Headmaster Dumbledore, I have no other choice but let you in there." He told me and looked a bit worried. Maybe he was afraid that I would avada kedavra him as soon as there was no other people around. And I had absolutely no idea who wants to enter the vault besides me. I would have quessed it must have been someone delivering some stuff for Voldemort.

We entered the carriage and took our way towards the vault. On our way I saw all those old vaults that had been there for propably centuries. Some people were entering and exiting their vaults. Somone even had tried to broke into a vault and a bunch of guards were dragging him towards another carriage. I hope I won't experience that in here. We went deeper and deeper underground. There were very few vaults there and I already thought we took the wrong way.

But soon enough we halted and had arrived at the vault. This really seemed very old one. The family of Black must have owned this and Bellatrix has taken it for herself. Well, Sirius and Regulus were dead and Narcissa had very wealthy husband so they didn't at least need the vault. The Malfoys had their own one full of gold.

The goblin went to the entrance to the vault and opened many locks until the door opened. I went inside and saw the place full of different objects and gold. How has she managed to get all this together.

"I'll be waiting for you outside the vault." said the goblin.

I started to search for the sword. It must have been hidden well if it really was that important. I had hidden the fake sword into my bag that had been enlarged with a spell. I looked for about half an hour. The goblin was still there and made no move to complain. There was so much stuff there. I found different jewels and gold bars hidden here and there. I was wondering if Bellatrix would notice something being stolen? Maybe not. This vault contained so much stuff, even Harry Potter would be gobsmacked.

When I was nearly giving up I bumped accidently into one box. It opened with a click and I noticed I had found the sword. It was lying on a couch in the box and it was shining. I took the sword and replaced it with the fake one. I hid the real one in my bag. I didn't know whether it means I stole the sword and I'd be taken back to the ministry. I guess they wouldn't let me miss Azkaban this time. Before leaving the vault I accidently took down a golden ring and it fell on the floor. Soon it was multiplying into more and more rings. The goblin already started to tell me to get the hell out of there before I drown into that stuff.

I noticed no one knew I had kind of a stolen something. No one tried to catch me. I was relieved when exiting the Gringotts. Later I heard they had placed a dragon to guard the vault. So they had noticed something wasn't right. I hoped no one would ever know it had been me. Voldemort had faith in me and Bellatrix, well, she wasn't so sure about me. Last year she was sceptical when I was supposed to help Draco Malfoy to kill Dumbledore. She needed to make me to have a unbreakable vow with Narcissa Malfoy. I had to pretend I was pondering about my answer but I already knew I had to kill Dumbledore anyway.

I was walking in my thoughts when Lucius Malfoy reappeared.

"So you have finished with your business. I would be delighted if you'd join me having a drink in The Leaky Gauldron"

"Now I have time so maybe I could. I'm accomodating in The Leaky Cauldron so I'll just take my stuff to my room and meet you downstairs." We took our way there and Lucius seemed to be pretty happy at getting out of that hell, called Azkaban. Not many people have been able to get out of there.

When we arrived there Lucius already ordered some wine, typical for him to have something posh. I went upstairs and pulled the sword out of my bag. It was so shiny it nearly manged to illuminate the whole room. I hid it under my bed just like the fake one earlier. This was far too shiny one. I took it and put it under the bed clothes. At least that helped a bit.

Lucius was sitting around a table in one corner and I joined him. He had ordered me a whiskey. I like whiskey but wasn't so interested in getting drunk today. But I thought it wouldn't be polite to turn it down.

So I sat down and looked at my glass. It was my favourite drink. I took a gulp and the waring feeling helped me to forget my sorrows. Lucius asked me if there was something I wanted to tell him as I seemed to be looking concerned.

"There's not so much really to say. The term hasn't started in Hogwarts yet and I already feel like I shouldn't do this. The Dark Lord puts his faith in me too much. I can't make any miracles happen. I'm afraid for the students that they will be punished too hard as the Carrows are in. I know this sounds weird but I care for their wellfare." Lucius nearly choked with his wine.

"I know you don't agree but your son is one of the students and I care for him too. In addition I haven't been able to sleep for ages. There was something about killing Dumbledore that I didn't like. He was after all the headmaster in the school I worked in. He was my boss. It was a bit like killing Voldemort. There was something good and something bad. Now I spend sleepless nights thinking if did right or wrong. And now I have to find out what the Potter boy is up to."

"Have a breath, Severus, for a while. You need some sleep. I knew you had hard time last time we saw each other at the meeting with Voldemort and the other Death Eaters. It's good that you care about your students but you shouldn't get too emotional. The Dark Lord will finally conquer Hogwarts so most of them are going to end up dead and there's nothing you can do right now. Have a drink and then go to sleep."

"Maybe I should have another one." I told Lucius and went to buy another whiskey, a large one this time. I thought it might help me to get some sleep. I know drinking isn't a solution to anything but I just need it now. After drinking the glass empty I felt so dizzy I barely could keep my eyes open.

"Severus, please, don't drink too much." was the last thing I heard before falling asleep. I woke up in the morning and realised I had fallen asleep at the table. I was still there and I was clutching a letter from Lucius. He told me he had to leave early and didn't dare to wake me up. I had an enormous headache after drinking too much.

I went upstairs and immediately checked whether the sword was still there. Luckily it hadn't disappeared from there. I decided to go and do some shopping before leaving to Hogwarts. I needed some new clothes and books. I paid for the accomodation and left to Diagon Alley. This time I hoped no one would want to invite me to have a drink anywhere. Luckily I was left alone. People recognised me although I had put the hood of my travelling cloak over my head. I tried to be as invisible as possible.

Entering the Madam Malkin's shop I saw there was no one so I didn't have to encouter any problems. I needed a new jacket. I had my usual one but it was a bit worn out. Last time I had ordered a new one was a couple of years ago. My unchanging wardrobe sometimes needs updating. I had also lost weight so much the old one looks a bit like a small tent on me. Madam Malkin saw me entering the shop and told me to stand in fron of the mirror to check the measures.

I saw a man nearly middle-aged and skinny looking back at me. I hadn't seen myself in a mirror for a while. I must admit it wasn't a nice sight. Skinny face and big nose, not so much flesh over bones seen in many places. I had bad eye luggage and dark rings around my eyes. Not a wonder after spending so many sleepless nights. Madam Malkin noticed that too.

"You know, mr. Snape. I think you really need some sleep. Your previous jacket must be getting too big for you, I suppose." I only nodded and saw Malkin turning her head but started to take the measures. The rest of the measuring happened in silence. Finally Malkin said she is done.

"I hope to see you in better condition next time, mr. Snape." She told me after I had paid the jacket and left the shop. Now it was only the books left and then I'd be ready to leave to Hogwarts.

I walked towards the Flourish and Bott's shop and stopped to look at myself from a window glass. Indeed, I looked terrible. Maybe I should follow Lucius' and Malkin's words and get some real sleep. Without alcohol or potions.

I entered the shop. People peered over their books when I entered. There were quite a few students buying their school stuff. I noticed some Slytherins and they waved at me happily. I just nodded my head and went to look for the books. I didn't want to encounter any students right now.

I was looking for a couple of potions books that were just released and contained some completely new potions. I asked the clerk for the books just to get out of there quickly. He guided me to the shelf and after a minute I had found both of them. I paid for them and when heading towards the door I saw Draco and Narcissa Malfoy in the shop. I slipped outside really quickly. I had no intention to talk to them. So the whole family was here. Must be one of the reasons that Lucius didn't drink that much yesterday. I still remember when we were younger that he enjoyed drinking a bit more than nowadays.

**A new headmaster**

I was back at Hogwarts in the headmaster's office. I still had the headache and decided to make a potion to help it. I had brought some potion stuff from my office beforehand and was about to brew some sleeping potion. Suddenly I heard a chuckle from behind me. Dumbledore's portrait had something to tell me.

"I saw you coming back. You got the sword I suppose?"

"Yes, I did, headmaster. It wasn't easy but I did."

"You don't look that happy. You seem to be brewing a potion. Let me quess that it's a sleeping potion. You seem like you haven't slept for ages. And you seem to be like having a hangover"

"Well noticed, headmaster. Lucius invited me to have a drink at the Leaky Cauldron. I was supposed to be not drinking. I'm too used to drinking myself into a sleep nowadays."

"Drinking and sleeping potion don't resolve your problem. My boy, you have lost so much weight too. You need to do something about it to make it through this term here. Now, put those cauldrons away and just lye on bed and let the sleep arrive in time. You seemed to have bought new books. Reading helps falling asleep. You should give it a try, Severus."

"Thank you, headmaster. And goodnight"

"Sleep tight, Severus" he smiled. I couldn't help but giving him a small smile back. Not a sarcastic one, but something I haven't shown for years. It feels good to smile. Nearly had forgotten how nice it was.

I went to the bedroom and undressed. I had lost my nightdress somewhere. Must be left in the Leaky Cauldron. I decided to send an owl there to ask them to send it back. So I just slept with only my boxers on.

I laid on my bed and kept staring at the ceiling for a while. I wasn't sleepy at all for some reason. I thought I could give Dumbledore's suggestion a try. I had bought those two books only for the new recepies. I thought they could be useful for the final battle. I decided to try to brew the potions just in case someone needed them. But now I decided to read them and maybe it would help me to fall asleep.

I opened the first book. It was written by a very famous wizard famous for different healing potions. He had come up with new ones especially made for severe wounds. Maybe even those worse than the ones made with Sectumsempra. I checked the first ones. They seemed to be quite easy to make. Maybe even some dunderheads called students in Hogwarts could make them.

The first one was designed to heal wounds made by severe burns. I knew there were quite of few of these already but the effect might be even better. It said that The burns would stop hurting and getting deeper immediately after placing the potion to the wounds.

The next one was for those wounds hitting the bones. Those were very deep and even my potion skills didn't exceed into healing those that quickly. This one was more complicated so I thought maybe I should first give it a try before suggesting this to Slughorn teaching the potions also this year.

After reading the long descriptions to the potions, I already started to feel quite sleepy. This really worked. I was so happy to get some serious sleep at last. The next time I woke up was when I heard a knock on the door. I dressed up quickly and went to the door. McGonagall was standing there with a serious face.

"Good morning, headmaster. It's already midday and you were still sleeping. We have decided to have a meeting with the teachers in an hour. So I hope to see you there."

"Thank you for the information, professor. See you there, then" I closed the door without letting McGonagall to say anything more. I wasn't feeling really social today. So the meeting was feeling really nasty thing.

The meeting started and I noticed all the teachers were there. I had no intention to participate in the discussion. I was more like hiding in a corner by myself. McGonagall opened the meeting. First she welcomed everyone there and told about the new teachers. The Carrows were there and they are going to teach Defense against the dark arts together, giving each other turns. We also had a new teacher for the Care of the Magical beasts. I was wondering what had happened with Hagrid. But McGonagall told that he had preferred to be only doing what he did before teaching.

Then happened what I feared the most. McGonagall asked me to have a speech. That was the last thing I wanted to do. No one respected me, expect for the Carrows. I stood up and lazily walked in front of the teachers.

"Good afternoon to all of you. As you know I replace Albus Dumbledore for being the headmaster for the school. I hope I won't have to begin explaining more details about what happened that night. You will find more about it later." This was the beginning of a whispering group of the teachers.

"Now. I wish you all a nice term this year. The school won't be the same anymore for we have got Dementors here to keep the school safe." I ended my speech and got a small applause. Mostly it was the Carrows and Slytherins giving a good applause and the others only clapping their hands twice. Just like me. I don't usually get excited about things that much.

"Thank you headmaster Snape for your speech. I want to inform all of you that the Forbidded Forest will stay forbidden. Even for the Slytherins who have got used to escaping there." She looked at me like I was the one to blame for their actions. I was still the head of Slytherin house but not responsible for their stupidity.

"If anyone has something to say, I suggest you tell us now, please. If not, we'll see you at the starting feast in 5 days" No one had anything to say so the meeting was at its end. I was the first one to exit the room. I walked fast with the cloak flowing behind me, just like usual. Now I remembered that I have to send the owl to the Leaky Cauldron.

I went to the owlry. There was one student who had arrived early, there. He got scared when seeing me. I only frowned at him and he ran away. I took one barn owl and tied the letter to its leg. I watched the owl fly away and started to think about Potter boy. I had no idea where he was or what he was doing. I hoped to hear about him. Dumbledore refused to tell me anything about it. That old man. Maybe he was thinking that he was keeping the boy safer when not telling me anything. I wanted to give Potter all the support I can give. But this way I had no chance.

I returned to my office and decided to give the second potion a try. I checked the ingredients and looked if I had all of it. I noticed I was missing unicorn hair. I had no other way than to try to get into the cupboard full of the ingredients and ready potions. I bumped into Slughorn on my way there and decided it would be safer to ask him if he could give the ingredient.

"You could have just gone there and get the hair. The password is still the same that you used and you still have an access there. I thought maybe you had a need to use it. What are you actually planning."

"Sorry, professor, I can't reveal it. But nothing dangerous. But thank you for helping me. I'll go and get some now."

"You're welcome, headmaster. I hope you enjoy your term here." I nodded and went to the cupboard. I picked up the hairs and checked if there was something else. I noticed the sleeping potion. Maybe I should get some, just in case something happens. I couldn't resist. Luckily there were a couple of bottles of it.

The first day of the term started soon. I hadn't managed to get enough sleep so I ended up using the potion. I didn't want to do it but I needed good sleep. I remembered Dumbledore's suggestion but I decided it was too slow way to fall asleep.

We were sitting in the teachers' table in the Great Hall when the students arrived. I tried to see if Harry Potter was there but he wasn't in sight. The first years seemed even more scared than usual. They must have heard it's not that safe here this term. Gryffindor students seemed to be looking like they were ready for anything. The Slytherins seemed so confidential they felt no need to panic. I should be proud of them but didn't feel like one.

After the sorting and the feast it was my turn to open my mouth. I stood behind the owl-bookstand and let my gaze to wander around the Hall.

"Welcome to all of you to start a new term here at Hogwarts. I'm replacing the former headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. I am professor Snape, the former Defense against the dark arts teacher and potions master. I am also the head of the Slytherin house. I want to inform you that there are Dementor guarding the grounds around the school. Also we have new teachers. Lucy Travers will be replacing Hagrid as the Care of the magical creatures teacher and the Carrow siblings will be teaching the Defense against the dark arts. They are also responsible for detentions. Now, it's time for all of us to go to sleep. Goodnight to you all and have a nice term ahead." I heard an enormous applause from the Slytherins. They seemed to be very happy to see me as a headmaster at last.

I still used the sleeping potion. I had a bottle of my favourite whiskey in a cupboard in the office. I wondered whether I should more like drink myself into sleep. No, I'll try to fall asleep without anything liquid. It was nearly 3 am when I finally fell asleep. I must thank god for not being a teacher and having to wake up early to get ready for lessons.

A couple of weeks passed by well. The Carrows didn't seem very popular. They had managed to take tons of points from others than Slytherin. The other houses were far behind and the students were ranting over the siblings. I must admit they're worse than me when taking points from the Gryffindor. I didn't dare to speak to them that much. I only greeted them when seeing them in the corridors. And sometimes answered some questions. If they asked something about detentions or points, I told them I had something urgent to do. I didn't want to participate in anything that does harm to students.

The whole school was in severe discipline. The stundets weren't allowed to move around school at all between 7 pm and 8 am. Unless it was something lethal. I imagined if Potter was here, he'd be sneaking out the dormitory every single night. The teachers led the students to their lessons so the students really didn't have any time between the lessons to hang around.

The Carrows started to keep their detentions. Those weren't really nice. I heard McGonagall talking to madam Sprout one evening. She said that Alecta Carrow had tried various potions on the students in detention to see what kind of effects they had. Some of the potions could have been lethal without using them the correct way. The siblings could kill my students any day soon. Minerva complained that most of the students having detention are Gryffindors. They indeed are worse than me. McGonagall saw me.

"You. You are the only person who can do something about it. You are after all their boss. They have to do what you say. I know it can't be you who told them to do that. Please!"

"I'm sorry, professor. But I can't do anything about it." I said and turned around to leave.

"You are such a coward!"

**The forest and the doe**

One day I was sitting the in headmaster's office crying my eyes out. Another terrible day behind with quarreling students and complaints about Carrows' detentions and lessons. I heard they were using more and more brutal ways to teach. I wanted only to cry and thought about why I ended up doing this. I wanted to hear about Potter. No matter where he were or what he did, I hope I heard about it as soon as possible. I noticed I was even more and more worried about him.

I lift my head up when hearing a chuckle from the wall. The portrait of Dumbledore wanted to have a word.

"I'm sorry to see you cry, Severus. It wasn't easy for me either to be a headmaster for years. But I never gave up. Sometimes I also felt like crying. But I held my head up no matter what happened."

I looked myself in a mirror. My eyes were red and I looked like I had become years older in minutes. My whole face looked like a tomato. The tears were running down my cheeks and my nose was running too.

"You see, Severus. You have a beautiful face. Don't destroy it with tears."

"I shouldn't cry. I know I shouldn't. But I feel like an old fool when accepting this job."

"No, you're not old. I was when I was still alive. You need to hold your head up now. I have something to do for you. Remember the sword? I know where Harry Potter is and you need to take the sword to him. He's in the forest of Dean with his friend, Granger. Their friend, Ronald ran away but he will be back. I leave it up to you to decide how to give it to him. The only problem is that Potter must not see you. He wouldn't be too happy to see you, I guess."

"Up to me? Getting into Gringotts was just pure luck. Giving him the sword isn't that easy. But I do care for him too much so I shall take it to him."

"Thank you, Severus. The sword plays an important role in destroying Voldemort. Harry Potter is hunting for these objects called Horcruxes. They are objects that contain pieces of Voldemort's soul. He hid his horcruxes in different places and he must have something to destroy them with. The fang of basilisk destroyed the diary of Tom Valedro. The venom of a basilisk can destroy them. The sword contains the venom as Potter killed the basilisk with it. With your help we can kill Voldemort. We need you, Severus." Those words made me cry a bit more. He was right. I was the only one who could take the sword to Potter.

Now I remembered Voldemort telling me something about a piece of soul of Voldemort living inside Potter. So he really must be killed after all to destroy all tht contains parts of Voldemort. I didn't want to see that boy dying. After all, I had been saving his life for all the 6 years so far.

"I see you have grown to care for Harry Potter. There must be something deeper in your thoughts about him. I can see it in the way you look like when I talk about him. You may not be able to tell him what you think about him. But what matters is what you tell him when revealing all those things we have discussed before you killed me."

"I know what you mean, headmaster. But I don't think I'm that interested in him." I told him. I knew I might have lied. I wasn't sure about it either. Finally Dumbledore looked at me knowingly and said goodnight.

I went to sleep that night. I continued crying after all. I understood completely what Dumbledore meant. There was something that inside me said I wanted to get to know Potter better. Maybe I cried for thinking it was impossible. I went to bed and fell asleep with tears in my eyes. My night was very hopeless. I woke up every hour thinking whether I should already get up.

In the morning after a restless night I went to have a breakfast. I didn't really have an appetite. But I grabbed some bacon and eggs with coffee. I saw McGonagall and told her I'll be away 'til tomorrow. She asked me where I'll go to. I said it was something to do with Dumbledore. So she was less sceptical.

I decided to take my broom to the forest. It was easier to find them from the air. I put on my travelling cloak and walked out of the office. Professor Trelawney was standing behind the door and was about to knock. I sighed and looked like I was about to run away. I didn't have time to talk to anyone.

"I saw your future, Severus. I wanted to come and talk to you. But McGonagall told me you were going to a trip for a day. I wanted to tell you that you are in a danger. Your heart belongs to someone and he'll mean something important to you."

"Thank you for the information, professor. Now I have to leave. See you later." I told her and took my way outside. I knew there was no reason to believe her stories always. I think Dumbledore was the only one who believed her.

I walked outside with gazing students looking after me. I told them to continue doing what they're doing. They hastily went away or started to go their stuff. They must be really scared here. No wonder as they're having the Carrows treating them like hell.

I walked to the grounds and mounted my broom. It was a while I last time had ridden a broom. My broom wasn't that new model but it had served me for years. I bought it one year after managing to break my old broom after dropping from my broom when refereeing a Quidditch match.. I used infinite incantatem but my broom wasn't saved. It hit the ground with a force.

It took me about 8 hours to arrive to the forest. I was forced to stop a couple of times to go and eat something and go to toilet. Otherwise it was quite a pleasant flight. I arrived at the edge of the forest and started to fly over the forest trying to find their tent. Dumbledore told me they had placed spells over their camp to protect them from the other people. I knew a spell to find the covers. After a half an hour of flying I finally located their spot. It was well covered with spells but there were holes of protection. In a matter of time Voldemort could have attacked them.

It was getting dark and I saw Potter sitting beside the tent and keeping guard. I noticed a lake close to the tent. I thought I could use it to deliver the sword to the boy. I had to make sure Potter wouldn't notice me so I should hide the sword somewhere close to them but not that close that Potter would see me. I went to the lake through one of the loopholes. I landed on the shore and threw the sword in the middle of it. The lake was in ice but in the middle there was no ice. I covered the small hole after placing it. Now the problem was to lead Potter to the lake. I had to think options. Showing myself to him was out of question so I needed someone or something to lead him there.

I finally came up with using my patronus. It was same as Lily's, a doe. Dumbledore told me it was because I had loved her so much that it took that form. Harry Potter's was same as his father's, a stag. So a stag and a doe ended up together when Lily and James got married.

I went closer to Potter and casted my patronus and led her to Potter. He saw it and stood up. I lead my patronus towards the lake and Potter followed it looking quite interested. I led the doe over the lake and Potter went there after it. Above the lake I made it disappear.

I watched Potter to lean over the lake and clearing some snow to see better. He seemed like stunned when seeing the sword. He glanced around like trying to find the one leading him there. I was standing in the shadows not visible to him. I watched him breaking the ice and taking his clothes off after realising he couldn't use accio to get it. I saw his skinny body. He seemed like he didn't have a time to eat at all, just like me. But his muscles were clearly visible. I looked at them clearly interested and watched him dive. I felt like this wasn't proper for a teacher being interested in a student. But I couldn't help thinking about it.

I decided to stay there watching and seeing whether he'll be ok. He dived and tried to grab the sword. I wouldn't have quessed that the locket around his neck was resisting the sword. It must have been one of the horcruxes. Why on earth he didn't take it off? Suddenly the hole had closed and he was trapped. I nearly went to help him but I saw another person approaching the lake. It was Ron Weasley. He saw Potter and broke the ice with his wand and dived to help Potter. Soon he was grabbing the wet and shaking Potter out of the lake. I only wanted to make sure he was okey. But I was too curious to see what happens.

Potter started to talk to Ron but I didn't hear what they were talking. Potter took the locket and Weasley took the sword. I watched Potter opening the locket and the voice of Voldemort disturbing Weasley. He finally after hesitating managed to hit the locket with the sword and surprisingly it broke down. Dumbledore told me it was nearly impossible to break a horcrux. I was amazed. But I didn't have time to linger there. I needed to go back to school.

I took my broom and took off to Hogwarts. I was happy at helping Harry Potter. Finally someone must be respecting me without knowing it. If he only knew... I was a bit angry at Dumbledore

for not letting me to reveal myself to Potter.

**Back to the story after Prologue**

I am forced to be unaware what's happening outside the castle. I'm too occupied at everything. I don't show myself to the students nearly at all. I'm just too fed up with all this. After the incident in the forest of Dean I haven't been the same. Thinking about Potter nearly all the time. I was far too attracted to him. Maybe I even nearly love him?

I am back in my office after a sleepless night. This time it isn't about killing Dumbledore. I'm waiting for Dumbledore arriving back to his portrait. I want to talk with him about my thoughts and feelings. I need someone to listen to me and who doesn't turn me down. I see him returning from having a coffee break in another portrait in the castle.

"Severus. It's good to see you. I heard you managed to give the sword to Harry. Tell me how you made it. I would love to hear." I tell him all about the lake, my patronus and Weasley helping him to destroy the horcrux.

"Wow, that is awesome, Severus. I knew you are clever enough to find an idea to give the sword to him. And you weren't seen at all?"

"No, headmaster. I don't think Potter yet knows it was my patronus but he'll find out soon enough. You know, there's something about him that I find attractive. I don't know what has gotten into me." I look worried and wait for Dumbledore to start laughing.

"I told you last time, didn't I? Don't worry, my boy. It's not something to be ashamed of. You have been protecting him for so long and have gotten used to seeing him a lot. He's of an age now so you don't have to be afraid of him being underage. And age is just a combination of numbers. Just do what your heart says. Listen to it. Let your feelings flow."

"What if I die before telling him anything? I want him to know."

"Then you'll die happy anyway. You have time, Severus, I know you do. And if you die before that, you will find a way to somehow tell it to him. Now, get some sleep. As you're happy now after discussing with me, I suppose it's easier to fall asleep. Goodnight, headmaster Snape!" he says smiling at me. That was the first time he calls me a headmaster. I had to force myself to laugh. What a relieving feeling. Now I know what to do and I have to make sure Potter knows how I feel about him.

I miss seeing the boy and want to know more about his whereabouts. I even contacted Lucius to know if he had seen the boy or heard of him. He told me he had heard nothing and was also curious if he had hidden underground or something. I sent my last owl to him the day before I finally got to know something.

After dinner I wanted to go and make sure the bottles I had prepared for the fight would be there in case there were severly wounded students. I had made quite a few potions for each of the wounds. I placed a paper on every bottle descibing what it contained and what for they were used. Just in case I wasn't there to tell them. There was still one potion bottle empty on the shelf. I took it with me. It was small and I normally wouldn't use that small bottles but I hought it might be useful some day. I was thinking maybe I visited this office for the last time. I didn't know why I thought so.

It was late evening and I had my contacts all over the surroundings of Hogwarts. If Potter was there somewhere I'd know it. I was patrolling around the corridors when Alecto Carrow came to me telling he had heard that Harry Potter had been sighted in Hogsmeade just few minutes ago. We had Death Eaters there who were ready to find Potter and take him to Voldemort. They had a signal there to warn them about Potter and it was clear the boy was there.

I called all the teachers to a meeting in the teachers' office. All of them seemed like they already knew the news.

"I just heard Harry Potter has been seen in Hogsmeade. I want all the heads of the houses to gather their students to the Great Hall in an hour. I'll go and get the Slytherins. I'll see you there. Bring all the students." The other teachers looked at me like I was insane. But I knew what I was doing.

After the meeting I went to the dormitories of the Slytherin. Each head of the house had the priviledge to enter their house's dormitories without the password. I gathered all the students around me and told them to come to the Great Hall. Some students were asking what had happened. I told them to wait until there. I had no idea what was happening at the same moment in a room that was invisible to those who didn't deserve to find it. If I had known, the hell would have broken loose.

After an hour all the students were gathered in the Great Hall. I walked past them and took my place in front of them with grinning Carrows and scared teachers around me. I looked at all the students seemingly quite sleepy as it was quite late. But my news would make even a corpse to wake up.

"I know it's late night and you'd be rather willingly sleeping. But my information couldn't wait until tomorrow. I have been informed that Harry Potter had been seen in Hogsmeade this evening." I heard a lot of chatter amongst the students and I told them to be silent. It worked even without raising my voice.

"If someone knows more about this, I want them to inform us right now. Otherwise, if found with information and telling nothing about it, they will be punished" The students looked worried, teachers shook their heads in displease and the Carrows seemed like they were ready for a bit of fun, only if you ask them after all. Their humour wasn't the same as everyone else's.

I saw no one step forward from the groups of students. I had guessed this. Why would anyone, except a Slytherin, tell me, of all the people, if they had seen Harry Potter recently. They must have been afraid that I might kill Potter immediately. If they only knew.

Suddenly I heard footsteps among the Gryffindors. Not one Gryffindor would tell me where Potter was, not one. So I was surprised to see a Gryffindor with round glasses and a lightning-shaped scar to step forward. He had borrowed someone's school robe so he wouldn't be sighted in the student group that easily.

"You, you killed Dumbledore. All these people should know how you did it. Dumbledore trusted you, you killed him and now you replace his post as a headmaster of Hogwarts. I suggest, headmaster, you didn't guess what was ahead of you." A group of Aurors stepped forward from the crowd. I was puzzled. What should I do? I had to show Carrows and Slyhterins that I was still on the Dark Side but at the same time protect Potter from them.

I took out my wand and pointed it at Potter. People got scared and some people screamed. Suddenly McGonagall blocked Potter behind her and pointed her wand at me. I didn't see this happen so I started a duel against her. I was quite skilled at this but I did my best to only block her spells and not to hex her back. I walked backwards blocking the spells. I noticed the Carrows taking their wands out. I decided it was my time to leave the school because I didn't want Potter to be hurt. My last spell knocked out the Carrows and I flew through the window of the Great Hall. The last thing I heard was McGonagall screming me being a coward. So common name used to describe me, I though when flying towards home.

I decided it wasn't safe to go to any magical place so I headed to Spinner's end that I had left last time few months ago. It was getting colder day by day and it was really chilly to fly all the way there. I thought I might get cold.

So it really was the last time I went to see the potions in the headmaster's office. Luckily I did so. Now I knew for sure there was some help for them. I had placed the small bottle inside a pocket in my robes and took it out from there placing it on a shelf next to my bed. I had no idea why I took it with me but there must be a reason for everything.

Before going to bed I started to reminisce about all these years with Harry Potter and how my care for him had actually started to rise. From nearly something like hate to nearly love.

**All those years**

The first time I met Harry Potter was when Voldemort had just killed Lily and James Potter. I knew he was about to kill them so I went to Godric's Hollow and only saw the house looking like a bomb had exploded. It looked terrible and I knew the sight there wasn't going to be nice. I only hoped to see Lily alive one last time.

I walked inside through a broken door. The other side of the house looked like it had burned down. I was shaking when starting to walk upstairs where the biggest explosion had happened. At the stairs I met a body of James Potter, a man who took away the only love of my life. I looked at him in disgust, a dead man. But I indeed pitied him. Although he was my enemy I wouldn't have wanted for him to die in that horrible way.

Upstairs I met the worst scene in my life. Lily Potter was lying dead on the floor with a crying baby, called Harry Potter, sitting in his cradle. I stumbled on the floor and hold the dead body in my arms and cried out loud more than ever. I looked at Harry and saw his eyes. Just like Lily's, beautiful green eyes. I was in so much of a shock I can barely remember when headmaster Dumbledore came in and held my hand an led me outside and told to go home and wait for his note. I tried to fight back and go back inside. Dumbledore told me to hold it down and there could be nothing to do to save them.

I sat on the ground and let myself to get all my feelings out. I cursed Voldemort under my breath and cried. Dumbledore patted on my shoulder and we saw Hagrid to arrive. Dumbledore told me that Hagrid will take Harry to his relatives. I told him maybe I should take care of the boy. But headmaster answered that it was better that Hagrid took him there. I wanted to do one last favour to Lily but I simply nodded and watched Hagrid carrying the tiny baby on his arms. He had borrowed an old motorbike. It looked like the one of Sirius. He can't be using that to take Harry there, no. I only told him to take good care of the boy with the lightning scar on his forehead.

It was the day Harry would be 11 years old and it was nearly time for the new term to begin. I was sitting in the headmaster's office talking with Dumbledore about protecting Harry from all the dangers, once again. He told me he felt the bad getting closer. Hagrid also arrived in the office and told he was ready to go to Privet Drive to inform the family of Harry Potter about the first term for him here in Hogwarts. I asked why they didn't send a letter to him. The headmaster told that no one had answered them and it seemed like the aunt and uncle of Potter must have prevented him to recieve them. Maybe it would really be better for him not to arrive here, away from possible return of his first enemy, Voldemort.

The first term started with the feast and the sorting in the Great Hall. Amongst the group of new and scared looking kids (I'm just wondering what bullshit elder students have given them about sorting, this time?) was standing the small, black-haired boy with round glasses and a scar on his forehead. He was glancing around eagerly. This must have been the first time he saw anything like this.

When McGonagall called his name to sit on the sorting chair, the chatter around the Hall began. People had heard many stories about the Boy Who Lived. Now that miracle boy was sitting there with the hat on his head. I was praying he wouldn't end up in Slytherin. The sorting hat seemed to be ready to place him there. I wouldn't have managed to see him so many times with the longing gaze that saw those green eyes resembling Lily's. Finally the hat called out Gryffindor and I was relieved.

After saving Potter's life during their first Quidditch match, Potter was even more scared of me. I didn't want to start to explain anything about doing counter curses while Quirrell was trying to bring his broom down. I was refereeing their second Quidditch match to make sure Potter wasn't killed while trying to find the snitch. He nearly knocked me down and after the match I gave him a good speech about hurting a teacher. He ran away after that was was preventing to see me even more. I never got a thank you for saving his life. I bet he got to know about it. That ungrateful brat.

The second year started with the legendary fake hero Gilderoy Lockhart. I was sure he wasn't what he claimed to be. At least the students had fun when defeating their Defence against the dark arts teacher in his area of specialise in the duel. Giving Potter a chance to duel with Draco Malfoy was an attempt to teach him properly how to duel. And still keeping my Slytherin side clear. And the duel lesson ended with Potter talking to the Snape. Those green eyes gazing at the snake and commanding it to stop. After the lesson the whole school was speculating about the connection between Potter and Salazar Slytherin.

After one potions lesson I asked for Potter to stay after the class. He looked really sceptical about my intentions. I wanted to ask him when he found out that he could talk to snakes. He told me about the scene in the zoo a couple of years ago. I told him it wasn't really common for wizards to be able to talk to them and he ought to be very careful about what he's going to do when other students are around. This was before the whole epidemic hazzle with the chamber started.

When saving his life once again when people were complaining Potter having petrified one more person. I suggested that maybe Potter just accidently happened to be in the wrong place in the wrong time. Just like usual for that kid. Just like later when Cedric Diggory was killed.

I understood the reason he was being praised for saving the school from the Dark Lord year after time all the muggle-borns were in danger. That small boy didn't care who he saved. He only wanted people to be safe. That's something he should be proud of. Not everyone has such courage and willingness to help people who someone might think are not equal.

On the third year I once again had to save Potter's life when Sirius arrived to Hogwarts. He had escaped Azkaban and wanted to come and get Potter. I had no idea by that time that it actually was Peter Pettigrew he was after. I took Sirius to Hogwarts after he and Potter had collapsed by the lake in Forbidden Forest. Black fought back trying to explain he didn't want to harm Potter. Of course I didn't agree with him. Black finally managed to escape from the Dark Tower and he was back when The Order of the Phoenix was reformed.

Black was in so close contact with Potter, I didn't really stand a chance in having any closer contact with him. I would have wanted to warn him about Black and tell him that I wanted to protect him from any harm. By that time I had already started to form a more closer affect on Potter. He was underaged but I knew something was about to come. There was something in the boy that felt attractive.

On the fourth year he ended up competing in the Triwizard Tournament even being underage and supposed to be not being able to compete. First I thought, as everyone else, that he had been able to cross the age line Dumbledore had made. Then we found out, it was Barty Crouch Jr, disguised as Alastor Moody. I was already perplexed about the whole show when the second task was about to begin.

I had noticed something was missing from my shelves full of potion ingredients. Gillyweed bottle was empty. I was furious and decided to ask Potter what on earth he was up to. I still remembered when those three had been making polyjuice potion on their second year and had been stealing my ingredients. So I supposed it was them once again. Why? I had no idea.

The second task took place in the lake with the contestants bringing their loved ones from the bottom of the lake. That was the first time I noticed his well-formed muscles. For a so young boy he was looking great. I was so in my fantasies I nearly forgot about the ingredients. After quarreling with Igor Karkaroff, Harry Potter bumped into us, looking like he was interrupting a lovers' quarrel. He looked like he was in shock. I think he must have had something in his mind. After fighting with Potter about the ingredients, he stormed off with a loud bang of the next door.

I went after him and stepped inside the room. Potter asked me why I was blaming him for everything. He wanted no harm and had no idea what had happened to all my potions stuff. His eyes went red and he looked like he was about to cry. I knew I had gone too far but didn't want to admit it. I just told him that I don't believe him without any evidence. He shouted at me that I had to go out and leave him alone. I wanted to stay with him there, but I instead took 10 points from Gryffindor and went out.

I went outside and met Karkaroff sitting on a bench smoking a cigarette.

"I didn't know you smoke"

"Oh, I do it only sometimes. When I'm really pissed off or sad. I didn't mean to yell at you. You seem terrible, Severus. Want to open up a bit?" I told him about Potter and our quarrel. "Yes, I understand. The boy is still underage and you seem to have some passion for him, I see. It's quite normal. I used to be affected in one student. But he already had someone. Too bad for me. But maybe I wasn't his type either. Would you like to have a cigarette, Severus?"

"No, thank you." But after Karkaroff looked at me knowingly and still held his hand to me, I did grab it. I had never smoked earlier. Igor lit the cigarette for me with his wand and I immediately choked when trying to inhale for the first time. Igor was laughing and told me that's not unusual. After a while I got used to it and it indeed worked. Even better than some of the potions. It was relieving and after the cigarette I felt much better. I decided I was sleepy enough and told Igor, I'd go to bed and begged him goodnight. Before leaving he gave me a couple of cigarettes and told me it was just in case I felt need for them another time.

Potter never got to know that it was him I liked and not Igor. Everytime he saw me, he looked like he just had remembered something important and went elsewhere. On the lessons, however he didn't have a chance to escape so he just quietly did what he had to. After what had happened that evening, the next time I managed to talk to him was after the last competition when the fake Moody nearly tried to kill him. The first time I heard a thank you from Potter's mouth was that time. Maybe he finally understood I wasn't all bad. After that he stopped preventing me.

On the fifth year, when the Order of the Phoenix was up again I visited the Grimauld Place regularly because of those meetings. I tried not to have long contacts with Potter when he was there. Usually I only stopped there for meetings and went home for dinner. I knew Molly Weasley made some good food, I thought I would have spent too much time with those morons. It felt like they didn't know at all what they were doing.

That year we had the worst teacher for the Defence Against the Dark Arts, the ministry pet, Dolores Umbridge. Finally we had someone Potter hated more than me. She gave him hard time with her detentions. I heard Dumbledore complaining about Umbridge. Usually he respected all the teachers. He asked me to talk to Potter. Me? Of all the teachers. But I had no other option.

After one dinner I went to Potter and asked him to come with me to my office. He said that he didn't have better to do so maybe he could. I head some irony in his words. I indeed wasn't his favourite teacher and was the last person Potter would like to spend any time with.

"Well, Potter. The headmaster asked me to talk with you. You seem to be having hard time with professor Umbridge. Could you tell me what is she up to? None of us others know what she has done to you. Only Hermione and Ron came to headmaster and complained about her nearly killing you with her detentions."

"All they know, is the all I'm willing to tell. If I told, she'd get more excited and find a way to expel me and headmaster Dumbledore. I'm sorry, professor. I can't tell anything more. I hope you understand. Sooner or later she'll be out. We'll make sure of that. Tell the headmaster, I'm okey for now."

"For now, yes but later, no. If you have anything more to say about it, tell me, professor McGonagall or the headmaster, will you, mr. Potter?" He nodded and went out of my office. I got nothing out of him. Watching an innocent looking boy sitting in his chair swaying his legs back and forth and trying to come up with something he wouldn't get in trouble for.

I rubbed the bridge of my nose and sighed hopelessly. I had a chance to have a longer discussion with him and I failed this chance. Just like the usual for me. I have never been good at talking to people when I have a real interest in them. Just like with Lily, so with her son.

At the end of the year Umbridge finally got kicked out of Hogwarts and Voldemort and his gang of Death Eaters arrived at the ministry and killed Sirius Black. I wanted to go there and help them but instead Dumbledore told me to go and call for the Aurors to help the youngsters. Maybe he thought I would end up there with my Death Eater mask I hadn't put on for many years. My only reason was to go and help Potter. This time I didn't manage to save his life. Instead it was his friends. I was happy that he had some friends who were ready to fight with him. I didn't have any when I was a students in Hogwarts. I had only the other Death Eaters.

The start of the sixth year started with Harry finding my old school book. I was quite suspicious when professor Slughorn praised him for being a model student and excellent at potions. He never was when I was teaching him. And he was able to brew the Draugh of the living dead. The potion I was the only student who ever managed to make it. The instructions were so wrong in the book, not many people might have managed to correct them.

The last straw was when Potter cursed Malfoy with my own spell, Sectumsempra. After realising which spell he had used, it was perfectly clear he had found my book. After giving him a hard time asking him about the book I worried he might do something very bad by using it. I wanted to have it back for his own good. But he brought me his friend's book instead and I could do nothing but wait for what might happen.

**The fate of Severus Snape (song by The Remus Lupins)**

I got really tired and quite happy after all, remembering all the moments I had shared with Potter. I was always there for him even though he never knew it. For him, I had always been the greasy git and the most terrible teacher. At first the feeling was mutual. But I had to keep my disguise and pretend I hated him from the bottom of my heart. It was difficult to show very mixed feelings. I fell asleep thinking tomorrow wasn't going to be easy day. I was very worried about what might happen.

The next day I was totally unaware what was happening inside Hogwarts. An owl brought me my copy of Daily Prophet. Yes, I was on the front page. God, I hate that newspaper. It was blaming me for destroying Hogwarts. They had interviewed McGonagall who managed to praise me for being a good teacher but not that good headmaster. At least something good.

Voldemort had started to bring Hogwarts down and the school was in bad condition. My mood went even lower when seeing a photo of Hogwarts burning here and there. My home for the most of my life was going to be destroyed and I could do nothing about it. The newspaper was complaining that why Harry Potter did nothing to save the school. How on earth they think a 17 year old boy could save the whole school?

There was a list of dead people on the following page. It was short and contained quite a few Death Eaters, too. The biggest battle hadn't started yet. Voldemort seemed to want to meet Harry and finish his life before killing the rest of the school.

I was angry and threw the newspaper into the fireplace and set it on fire. I am sitting here, Harry Potter is going to get himself killed and I had no chance to say goodbye to him. All my students and colleagues are in great danger and the biggest and most terrifying wizard of all time is confronting them. I stared at the wall and decided not me, nor Potter would die before I had a chance to tell him about my feelings for him.

It was in the evening and I had finished my lunch. I heard a knock on the door and opening the door I saw Lucius Malfoy standing there.

"Good evening, Lucius. Come on on. Don't just stand there." I said with a happy voice when seeing someone alive behind my door.

"Thank you for the invite, Severus but I'm busy and I only came here to convey a message from the Dark Lord. He wants to see you. He's accomodaing in the Shrieking Shack at the moment and meets you there." He said looking a bit afraid.

"Okay. Why are you so worried? Don't worry, I'll be ok. Thank you for the the way. Do you have any idea why he wanted to see me?"

"No, I don't. He only told me to find you. I just apparated here."

"That's alright. I'll find out myself. Bye, Lucius!" I said and waved him goodbye. Closing the door I knew this wasn't good. If Voldemort wanted to see me, it meant I had done something wrong or he had another stupid idea for me to do. Destroy the school? Kill the other teachers? Kill Harry Potter? No, it can't be. Voldemort himself had said he's the only one that must kill Potter.

I took my robes and got ready to head off towards the Shrieking shack. I apparated near the Hogsmeade. The whole place was quiet and still. In the background I could see the school burning. It was still in quite good condition comparing to the damage it had been inflicted to. I just stood there for a while staring at it but remembered what I was here for.

The Shrieking shack stood on the hill at the far end of Hogsmeade. Only some lights could be seen to prove that people were inside. When approaching it, I was thinking about Harry Potter and where he might be.

I opened the door and step inside. The light was coming from upstairs and I heard Voldemort's voice calling me to come upstairs. I climbed the squeaky stairs and reached the top. Only Voldemort was there with his snake, Nagini. By his face, I guessed not everything was fine.

"You called me, my Lord."

"Yes Severus. You may have heard all the things that have happened in Hogwarts, I suppose."

"Yes, my Lord. You have done very extraordinary things during the past day." I heard a creak from downstairs but I only thought it was the wind making the house moan. I already thought someone had come there to make sure I wasn't being harmed. But no sane person would end up in here.

"So they say. I think there must be some problem with the Elder Wand. It doesn't obey me how I want it. There must be a reason for it. So I thought it must be that only its master can use it properly. It seems that I'm not its true master."

"You must be, my Lord. Look at what you have achieved with it." I said trying to sound confident. But I knew this wouldn't end well. I wasn't called here only to hear that they wand doesn't obey him.

"I realised that the wand belongs to the wizard who killed its last owner. Albus Dumbledore used to own it before his death. And it was you who killed him." I only managed to realise that he meant I was the one to die here and it was going to happen now.

I felt like a blade cutting a deep wound on my neck that started bleeding lethally. Voldemort had used my own spell, Sectumsempra on me. I fell on the floor clutching my neck and trying to stop it bleeding. Voldemort looked at me madly with his red eyes glittering. He finally had achieved what he wanted and nothing could prevent him to kill Potter now. But he hadn't finished yet. Although this wound would kill me in a matter of time, Voldemort told Nagini to finally kill me. The big snake attacked me with his fangs hitting my body everywhere. I only prayed for it to stop. After a few bites I already had gotten to get numb. I felt nearly nothing. After realising nothing would save me anymore, Voldemort told Nagini to finish attacking me and they disapparated together. I was lying on the floor leaning my back against the wall, barely alive.

Suddenly I heard footsteps coming from the stairs and the door flew open. I saw Harry Potter standing there in shock and looking at me very sadly. He was the one making noise before Voldemort attacking me. Weasley and Granger arrived after Harry. They all looked like they had seen a ghost. Not a miracle as blood was everywhere and I was about to die. Potter came to me and leaned over me. Now it was the time to reveal my feelings. But I decided it wasn't wise with his friends around us and I had so much else to tell him too.

The only decision I could come up with was giving him my memories and telling him to go to the pensieve. It looked like my tears were running but instead they were my memories. I was too weak to pick up my tiny bottle hiding inside a pocket in my robes. I told Potter to grab it and take the memories. He luckily found the bottle and filled it. I wanted to see his face and his beautiful eyes once more before taking my last breath.

"Look at me." I begged him. He turned to face me. Those eyes, the ones I always loved. The last thing I could feel was Potter placing a soft kiss on my cheek. Then all went black and I did feel no pain anymore.

**But how can one survive?**

All the pain was gone and I barely managed to open my eyes a little. I was in a brightly lit room and first I could see nothing but the white.

"Am I in heaven?" I could hear myself asking.

"Not yet, professor." I heard a familiar voice coming from my left side. I turned my head and faced Harry Potter with stitches and some bandage on his head. He smiled at me happily and patted my hand and took a hold of my hand. I didn't resist. It actually felt really good to have his warm hand hold mine.

"You are alive, sir. You should be very grateful for this young man for saving your life. Without him you would indeed be in heaven." Madam Pomfrey told me and left to see some other patient. So I was in the hospital wing.

"But how did I end up in here? Last thing I remember was myself being in Shrieking Shack dying after the Dark Lord and his snake had attacked me." I had to catch some breath. Talking was a bit difficult as it made my neck hurt again.

"Relax, professor. I'll tell the whole story. Have a nice position and open up your ears."

**Harry's story**

I arrived at the Shrieking Shack after reading lord Voldemort's mind. We three hid on the floor under you. We didn't want to be seen and we hoped we could kill the snake in there. The snake was one of the horcruxes and we knew it before that.

We made the floor squeak a bit and thought Voldemort would notice that. But luckily he didn't. He was too concentrated on talking to you about the wand. When I realised he would kill you, I wanted to go and attack him immediately and I already got on my feet when Ron Weasley grabbed me back there. I didn't want to see you die. I was already getting teary when thinking about what was going to happen.

When the snake had finally finished attacking you, hearing your rasping breath made me want to storm through the floor. Not literally but I was ready to kill someone to save you. I guessed you didn't have much time left. I ran to you hoping to see you still living for the last time. Your black eyes mesmrized me. I woke up from my daydreams when you asked me to take your memories.

Seeing them running down your cheecks like tears made me want to cry too. Finding the small bottle under your robes was difficult but I had a chance to touch you at least. I still have the bottle here on you bedside table to remind you about that scene.

Hearing you to ask me to look at you was my biggest hope. I hoped that you cared about me. I couldn't resist when seeing your lips departing when you catched a breath. I wanted to kiss your lips but I didn't want to do it when Ron and Hermione would have seen it so I decided to give your last kiss on your cheek.

After you closed your eyes Voldemort commanded his forces to leave the castle so I knew I had a chance to see your memories before he would attack the castle again. Leaving you there on the floor filled with blood felt cruel but I thought there was nothing you could do.

Arriving at the castle was a horror. The Great Hall was full of dead people. Amongst of them were Lupin, Tonks and Fred Weasley. So many people who meant so much to us all. Seeing the whole Weasley family crying around Fred was too much. After noticing Lupin and Tonks made me realise another boy had become orphan too young. But then I realised I had to hurry seeing your memories.

Arriving at the headmaster's office I made sure you portrait was on the wall. I thought maybe it wasn't there because you had fled from the castle. Thank God you were there. I took a deep breath and dived into your memories. After realising your love for my mum and hate for my father I was really amazed you had managed to cope with me that well. Then I guessed why you had asked to see my face once more. My eyes... They're my mother's and you loved her.

I hated you from the bottom of my heart when you killed headmaster Dumbledore. Until that I had actually had a crush on you no one else noticed. Then I realised you had killed a man protecting me from all the harm. I was completely sure you were still a Death Eater and only wanted to give Voldemort a better chance to kill me when Dumbledore was out of the way. I didn't believe you being on our side until seeing your memories. Now I hate it that Dumbledore never told me that I had to die at the end. I was pissed off when realising that he indeed kept me alive to have me murdered by Voldemort.

The scene you showed me where you talked to Dumbledore about the sword and about you having a crush on me. I was completely sure you hated me throughly until seeing that. It appeared that you had liked me longer I'd have imagined. All these years. That's a long run. And still keeping straight face and pretending to hate me in front of everyone. You are an amazing wizard, professor. I appreciate that so much. I have never known anyone that brave.

You must be the only one who has managed to fool that old fool, called Voldemort. I'm really sorry for calling you a coward. I now realise you did all that to cover up your alliance with Dumbledore. And I thought you were in Order just to tell Voldemort what we were up to. You did all that only to protect me. It wasn't Dumbledore protecting me, it was you, my dear professor.

On the fourth year I indeed was thinking you and Igor Karkaroff had some passion for each other. Seeing you getting angry at yourself after I got out of the room, was really sad. I also wanted to tell you something but I was far too shy.

After the memories I only wanted to hold you in my arms just like you did when my mother had died. Hold you so close I could feel every inch of you next to me. I sat on the floor of the office and glanced your portrait. I thought someone must bring your body back from the Shrieking Shack. I had learned some spells to use for that purpose.

I knew I had to face Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest but I thought saving your life was far more important. I noticed some bottles on the table of the headmaster's office and a paper with your beautiful handwriting on it. I thought that wow, I must take these to madam Pomfrey.

Before leaving to the Shrieking Shack, I took the bottles to the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey was so grateful. She asked me where I had found them. I told where but didn't dare to tell who had made them. I thought she might have gotten suspicious. But I was totally positive that they were safe.

I walked towards the house and started running just in case. I thought I'd find a lifeless corpse lying on the floor. I entered the upper room and looked at you. I let out a cry when I was finally alone with you. I kneeled by your side and held your hand. I noticed it was still warm and checked your pulse. Your heart was still beating, although quite a little but enough. Your breathing was heavy and barely noticable. My heart bounced happily and my only goal was to take you to the hospital wing. Then I remembered the potions you had given. With one of those I could save your life.

After thinking for a moment I came up with the idea to carry you using Levicorpus back to the castle. Holding you up gently I managed to bring you here to the hospital wing. I didn't meet any people on my way luckily. All of them were mostly in the Great Hall.

When I entered the hospital, madam Pomfrey looked like she had seen a ghost. I told her what had happened and that the potion could help you. She took the potion and checked your wound. She said that you were lucky that it hadn't hit any main blood vessels. Otherwise you might have been dead in minutes. I had brought you here just in time that you could be saved. I stayed by your side for a few minutes and then I remembered what I was supposed to do. Go and get killed by my arch enemy.

On my way to the Forest I had only one thought in my mind. To survive and come and tell you how much I love you. Reaching to the edge of the forest I turned around to face the school once more. Seeing the half burnt school was a terrible experience. "I love you, professor." I said facing the tower where the hospital wing is situated.

On my way to the meeting with Voldemort I had time to think what my life would be like if I survived. After finally reaching the spot Voldemort didn't hesitate to kill me instantly. I woke up in a place that looked like Kings Cross. I saw Dumbledore there and we talked about what I had just seen. Dumbeldore told me that I should do what my heart desires. He knew that you cared about me and that you want me to survive and I should go back.

I pretended to be dead so I could be taken back to Hogwarts. I thought I still might have a chance to see you alive. Hagrid carried me to the castle, Voldemort leading the gang of his Death Eaters. Neville Longbottom decided that it wasn't the time to have Voldemort rule our world. When I realised the war wasn't over yet, I made clear I was still alive.

I started a fight against Voldemort. We thought Nagini should be killed as soon as possible so Voldemort wouldn't have so much time to destroy the castle. After we had fought for a quarter an hour I saw Neville managing to kill the snake with the sword of Gryffindor. Voldemort got very fragile after all his horcruxes were destroyed. Then it was fairly easy to kill him. Only one shot and he was dead. Walking to his dead body was like showing the world that the evil was dead. The way he got killed proved that he actually was only a human.

After I killed him tons of students surrounded me with hugs and laughter. Our world was safer now. I called Ron and Hermione to me and told that I need to go to the ministry and they should tell everyone around the castle that Voldemort was defeated. They asked me what on earth I was doing but I knew they would think I was insane.

I apparated to the Leaky Cauldron and first took a butterbeer to give me strenght to do what I was about to do. Then I headed to the ministry and people ran at me congratulating me. The news had spreaded all over the place and people were celebrating. I went to Kingsley Shacklebolt, the minister, and told him I had something to show to the court.

He gathered all the court to the courtroom and I sat on the chair in the middle. They asked me what can they do for me. Quite unusual question. But I had just saved the wizarkind so maybe it wasn't that curious at all.

"I want to show you that the former professor and headmaster of Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry, Severus Snape, is innocent for being called the murderer of headmaster Dumbledore. I know he has been announced innocent but I want to make it completely sure to everyone of you."

"That's alright Potter. Show us what you have got."

I took the small bottle from inside my robes. The one containing your memories. Don't worry, professor. I found out how to remove the scenes that you didn't want them to see." I had brough the pensieve from the headmaster's office with me. It was easier to carry by disapparating.

After seeing the memories many people from the court had tears in their eyes and had to admit they had been wrong about you. I thanked them and turned to Shacklebolt who wanted to have a word with me.

"You did something no one could have ever do, especially a Gryffindor. Professor Snape was one of the most disliked teachers in Hogwarts and he was the last person many people wanted to contact. An amazing job, Harry. We all appreciate what you have done."

"That was nothing. I appreciate professor Snape very much. After realising he had been protecting me no matter what happened, I had to admit liking him quite a lot. But you'll hear from me later. Now I have to go back to Hogwarts. Thank you so much, mr. Shacklebolt."

"You're welcome, Potter. See you later, I know we'll meet soon."

When getting out from the courtroom I met people shaking my hands and someone even offered me candies. After finding it a vomit flavoured one I decided not to accept any more candies. I stayed there for a while as people came up to me and asked tons of questions about what had happened and what I was doing here. Many people knowing you, praised you for saving my life.

Getting back to school was a pleasant thing. The ministry promised to send an announcement to school about my visit to ministry and about finding you innocent for murder. The announcement arrived very soon. I talked for a while to another students and staff and they told me I should go and show my wounds to madam Pomfrey. I hadn't had any time to care about them when I had only you in my mind.

Arriving here was so pleasant, first I came to you and kissed your unconscious lips. Then I called for madam Pomfrey and she took care of my wounds. I asked her if I could stay by your side for a while. I went back to the Great Hall and people were arranging the place so people could sleep and live there while the school was in bad condition. We had already recieved many people helping cleaning the building.

We buried quite a few people to the grounds of Hogwarts. The burial was the worst thing that day. The Weasleys decided to bury Fred next to Burrow. Lupin and Tonks were buried here and few students, too. We had so many people attending it that we couldn't keep the ceremony afterwards inside but rather outside beside the graves.

Now it's the following day and I arrived here very early so I could be by your side when you wake up. I wanted to make sure I wouldn't miss that opportunity.

**I love you, professor**

The boy leaned over me and gave a kiss on my lips. I answered his kiss and let him hug me. Finally I felt the love I had needed for years. The only love of my life had been Lily and now I turned another page in my life and succeeded in falling in love with her son.

"I love you so much, professor. You're the sunshine of my life. I couldn't live without you. I wouldn't have wanted to bury you yesterday along with Lupin and Tonks. Holding you in my arms when Voldemort had attacked you was what I wanted to do." Potter stroked my hair gently.

"So you used my own spells against me, mr. Potter. Once again, without my permission." I gave him a sarcastic grin I was used to use a bit too much. He looked me into my eye and blushed. I gave a short laugh and Potter relaxed a bit. "Thank you for saving my life. I don't know how to thank you enough. You mean so much to me, I would indeed die for you."

"I love you, Harry" He looked at me with surprise. This was the first time I called him by his first name. It felt good to show him that I appreciate him.

"I love you more, Severus". He went completely red. I smiled at him warmly and he returned the smile.

"Come here, my boy" I commanded him. He obeyed me immediately with a grinning face. I raised my hands and Harry leaned closer. I stroked his hair just like he had done to me and fondled his cheek. It was so warm.

I hoped I had power to raise myself up and kiss him. Harry realised I wanted him even closer. He leaned so close I could feel his hot breathing on my face. I was begging in my mind that Harry would kiss me. I parted my lips and felt Harry's lips press against mine. His kiss was hot and long. I hoped this would last forever. I moaned with pleasure and then Harry let go of me. I grumbled for having to end it.

"Not too much sweet for this moment, Sev. I have to go now for dinner. I'll come back later in the evening. I have to go and help the other with the cleaning." He sent me an air kiss and disappeared to the corridor.

Finally, I thought. I was already thinking I would never get to tell Harry my feelings for him. Now that young man turned me on by telling he loves me and kissing me passionately. I could still feel the taste of his lips on mine. '

My next visitor was McGonagall. She looked so happy and was nearly bouncing from happiness.

"Oh, Severus. You're our saviour. I wish we all knew earlier about all that happened that night in the Astronomy tower. Potter told me everything. You really made his day. He hasn't been happier ever. He told me about his feelings for you. I had noticed how he looked at you longingly. And I thought your stubborn mind would never let him to love you."

"I really hope he hasn't told the whole school. It would be terrible to step outside the hospital wing and see a group of students giggling at me."

"Don't worry. He told me the school will know when you agree to tell them. He appreciates you. You're his idol, his passion, his love and everything. Never let him go, never. Make him proud to be your lover."

"Thank you, Minerva. This is my biggest dream come true. I was already fascinated about him on his first year here. Not sexually, of course. But there was something. It took me 5 years to admit it to myself and 6 years to admit it to Harry."

"It's good to hear that you don't call him Potter anymore. You were the only teacher to call him by his last name. He was so eagerly telling me how cheerful he was about it. Sadly, I missed to see the love confession of yours." She winked at me and I felt like it was good she didn't see it. "Well, I have to go and have some dinner too. I guess Harry will bring you something sweet from downstairs. You must be hungry. Oh, madam Pomfrey is bringing you all food. Enjoy your lunch, Severus" I nodded at her and accepted my dinner. It was soup and I guessed I wouldn't have managed to eat anything solid yet with my sore neck. I was munching happily my food and fantasised about the evening when Harry will return.

I had asked McGonagall to bring me one potion book from the library and was reading it and reminiscing all those dunderheards I had had a pleasure to teach. Everyone else was already sleeping and I was getting worried whether Harry would come or not. I fell asleep with the book on my tummy. Suddenly I felt someone sitting on my bed and I opened my eyes and smiled broadly when seeing Harry Potter sitting next to me.

"Good evening, Severus. You must have though I wouldn't arrive, did you? I thought maybe we could have some time together without all these people around us." He looked at me and gave a kiss on my cheek. He got up and pulled the curtains shut around us. This was getting really interesting.

Harry sat on the bed and held my hand. His eyes were staring at me intensely and full of love. He started to stroke my hair with his hand and the other hand started to unbutton my shirt. Shivers went down my spine and I moaned a little when Harry's soft hand pressed my chest.

"Well well, my dear professor. You seem really turned on. What shall we do with you?" He looked at me with a devilish grin. I was only hoping for him to touch me more.

"Touch me, Harry. Please..." I managed to moan. He took his tie and I was already thinking he would take his clothes off. No, he tied it around my head to block my mouth.

"Now now, Severus. Not so fast. Someone might wake up when they hear your sexy voice that sounds quite horny at the moment. Now you'll give us some peace to do whatever we want." He said grinning. Damn with you, Harry. I wasn't so much into bondage or stuff but I liked this idea, actually. I might keep to loud voice when being horny. I know I can be really loud...

I could do nothing but to watch what Harry was doing. I couldn't protest. He kissed me fiercely and glided his tongue along my cheeks. I was hoping that I didn't have the tie around my mouth so I could kiss him on his mouth. Harry slid my shirt over my shoulders and took it off. Nice and cold air flew over me. Harry slided his tongue on my chest and pinched my another nipple. I wanted to moan so loudly that the whole Hogwarts would have heard. I arched my back and pushed my body closer to Harry's. But he pushed me back.

"We wouldn't want you to hurt your neck more so just stay still." Good for him to say I wasn't pinching his nipples all the time. I tried to raise my hand to touch him but he decided that I was too excited. He had brought a spare tie with him. I knew what was coming. Oh my. Harry took my both hands and raised them above my head and tied them together. Seemingly he wanted to control the whole situation. I thought I was a control freak but now it's Potter.

He took my another nipple between his lips and licked it. I was getting so turned on, I could feel my dick hardening. Harry placed his another leg between my legs and it didn't help my hard on at all. It started to grow even more bigger all the time.

"We are so excited, I see. Our little professor wants to play. Or at least something in your trousers wants. What should we do with it? It seems to require some attention but we'll get to that later on. You must learn to be patient." Shit! I want him to touch me now. I tried to mumble something from behind the tie, hoplessly.

"You're trying to tell me something. But maybe you can tell me later. Now I'm too busy." He smirked at me. I wanted to say I want him so much. But I couldn't speak clearly enough. And he must have known what I wanted.

He took his leg away from my crotch. Now I was so hard I could have knocked out someone with my hard on. Harry continued licking my nipples and started to bite them. It got me even more horny.

I wanted him to touch me there. But he wanted to make me suffer, clearly. He continued fiddling with my nipples and his another hand started to glide itself closer to my crotch. Yes, yes! But he stopped just over the waistline of my trousers. I shivered and Harry stopped doing anything. I stared at him madly.

"You really need my touch, don't you darling." I only nodded and blushed. "I thought this would be the thank you for everything, so maybe I could do something about it." He smiled broadly. He started to take my trousers off not letting his mouth get off licking of my chest. I raised my hips so he could remove them better.

My hard on was already so big that it seemed like it wanted to push through my underwear. Harry looked at it keenly and touched it lightly. I went all red and tried to groan out loud. My hard on was growing and Harry thought maybe it would be the time to let it get out. I sighed in relief when Harry started to pull my underwear off.

"Wow, something quite big in here. It looks so nice." He smiled at me. I blushed for the compliment and nodded to thank him. He glided his nails along my shaft and I pushed my hips up to meet his hand. And Harry pushed my hips back on the bed with force. He really wanted me to stay in place.

He raised his eyebrow with surprise. He touched my shaft once more with a gentle pressure. I moaned and let him play with it. He took the head of it between his two fingers and pressed. That felt so good I hoped he would tease me more.

He fiddled with my foreskin and glided it back and forth a couple of times. I was in heaven. I closed my eyes and enjoyed his touch. He cupped my balls in his hand and pressed them with a light touch. Suddenly I felt him licking me below my navel. I waited for him to lower his touches.

Harry stopped right before my shaft and looked at it and licked his lips. That looked so sexy I had to groan only for seeing it. His tongue touched the head of my dick and I felt mesmerised. He started to glide his tongue along my shaft and was licking it like a lollipop. He looked like a small kid who had got a sweet of his dreams. He started to lick it even more eagerly and I was nearly ready to cum. He pumped my shaft a couple of times and surrounded it with his mouth. Now that was something I had waited for this whole day. To have him giving me a blowjob. He started to glide my shaft in his mouth and press it with his tongue.

I was close to an orgasm and Harry made one hard glide and I felt my hot cum fill his warm mouth. I groaned and raised my hips along with the pressure of the orgasm. Harry swallowed all the cum and as he lifted his head I saw my sperm to drip all over his chin.

"That was nice." He said licking his lips to clean them. "You taste so nice, professor. We're not done yet, you see. I haven't had any pleasure yet." He winked at me and started to lick my chest to clean all the sperm. At the same time I was getting my hard on back. I was sure what he would come up with next.

Simultaneously he took off all his clothes. I looked at his muscular body passionately. His dick was already really hard and I was begging to get it inside me. I mumbled some words under the tie and Harry asked what I wanted. I tried to scream that I only want his cock but of course he could make nothing out of my words. He just gave a short laugh.

Harry pumped his cock with fast strokes and he moaned and placed his another hand on my dick. After a short wank I was already so hard I could fuck a wall. Harry looked at my erection for a while and sat beside me and took out his bag. I was wondering what he would come up with next. He took a small packet out of the pockets and showed it to me. I had seen those muggle things, called condoms. I appreciated that Harry wanted to make sure everything went well. He told me it's just a precaution.

He rolled the condom over his hard dick and remembered one more thing. Lubrication, he told me he had put it somewhere. After searching for a while he found it. He started fingering around my anus with soft touches. I heaved a sigh of pleasure and let him play with it. Harry put some lubrication on his dick and then on my anus. He pushed one finger in and pushed it in and out a few times. I would have never guessed how fabulous that felt.

Harry tried to push a couple of more fingers in and first it hurted a bit but after giving Harry a suffering glance he realised to stop it for a moment. I got used to feel them inside me quite soon and he continued pushing them in.

After a while I was already hoping he would replace them with his dick. I didn't have to wait for long. He pulled his fingers out and rimmed it for a moment with his tongue. If I hadn't had the tie on, I would have screamed.

Looking quite prurient he finally decided to relieve my sexual pain. He held his erected cock and placed it on the entrance of my anus. Gently pushing in I felt ardent but it felt painful at first. Harry stopped his motion and waited for my nod so he could continue. Finally he had pushed it all the way in. I could feel my anal canal full. Harry started to thrust in and he moaned out loud. I started to hope no one would hear us.

He hit my prostate with the head of his dick. I nearly jumped up with the pleasure I had never felt before. He noticed he had found the spot of pleasure and started to push against it even harder. I cried and my eyes went shut for the passionate feeling. I was nearly there and Harry seemed to be ready to cum too. Soon I felt this dick throbbing inside my anus. It made me cum too and my sperm flew over our bellies.

Harry took his dick out and took the condom off. He took off the tie around my mouth and I panted and was relieved to finally be able to breath through my mouth. I tried to get up, but Harry said I should stay on my bed. I told him I wanted to lick his dick clean. He looked surprised but complied. I took his dick in my mouth and licked it all over. It was Harry's time to groan. He tasted awesome and I finally gave the head of his shaft a kiss. Harry went to lick my dick and belly clean too. I was too tired to get aroused again. All these orgasms took my strenght.

Harry fell on the bed next to me and hugged me tight. His body felt so warm close to mine. I was in paradise and Harry was my snake trying to persuade me to do something sinful.

"My little naughty student, you are, mr. Potter. Maybe I should teach you your lesson when I have enough strenght to punish you." I told him with naughty look.

"Yes, professor Snape. I have been a bad student for all this year and I have been saying bad things about you behind your back. Show me what you've got. But for now, let us go to sleep. I think I should leave to the Gryffindor dormitories. Maybe it would look suspicious if they found us together on the same bed. Goodnight, Severus. I love you!" He called me.

"Goodnight, my dear Harry. I love you, too." I smiled. I fell asleep nearly instantly with the smell of sex around me. I shall do something about the smell when I wake up. "I love you so much you'd never believe my passion for you." I whispered and fell asleep smiling.

**Our secret**

The next morning I was reminded of the last night by the smell of passionate sex. I had my wand on my bedside table and thought maybe I should do something about it. I used a cleaning spell so the sperm and sweat stains in bedclothes disappeared too. Just in time as Madam Pomfrey arrived to bring my medication. She said I should try to get up today as my condition started to become quite good.

I told her I'll wait for Potter to help me. She looked at me knowingly. She must have guessed there was something between the two of us. After dinner I knew Harry had no lessons as one of the teachers was dead and another one was lying here unconscious.

Harry arrived just after I had finished my dinner. He was bouncing around and nearly ran to me with open arms. Other patients looked at us with grin. We must look ridiculous with Harry hugging me.

"Good afternoon, sunshine. I heard we should get you up from your bed and have a little walk, shall we?" He asked with so much happiness I could do nothing but smile at him. Getting up was a bit difficult but Harry supported me. My neck wasn't that sore anymore and I had regained some powers to be able to stand up with only little help.

My legs were shaking but after a while I sustained my balance. Harry took my arm and helped me to walk a bit. It was like having to learn to walk again. I had lost so much blood and strenght. He helped back on my bed. Madam Pomfrey told me I should try once again today, later in the evening. I told her it's ok and asked if Harry could help me again. She agreed immediately.

After the ever happy Harry had left the hospital wing, madam Pomfrey came to me with a smile.

"You don't really know how happy I am for the two of you. You really look like a very cute couple. That boy must have been in love with you for a while already. He gained so much energy when you were found alive. He told me that now that he knew you were safe, he could be able to kill the Dark Lord."

"You seem to know more than I do." I laughed. "Potter didn't tell me I gave him that much energy. I should be ready to tell the others about our relationship quite soon. Somehow we must show it. I should talk to Potter about it. People would notice anyway soon least the people here in the hospital wing. With that boy hugging and kissing me." Madam Pomfrey laughed and departed to go and see other patients.

I let my head thump on the pillow and thought about what our life would be like after Harry had finished the school. I wanted to have the boy so close to me as possible. He must move in with me. His relatives must have nothing against it. More like being happy about getting rid of him. I had always wanted to have a family and happy life with kids and stuff.

After seeing Lily with James Potter I buried all my hopes for a family life. She was the only one I could have married. Some Slytherin girls tried to persuade me to go out with them but I only scowled at them and told them to fuck off. And after that I have lost my faith in women.

Maybe that's why I started to get interested in Harry. He's not that much like his mother. More like his father. The only clear resemblance is that he has his mother's eyes. The attitude is his father's. I remember that one far too clearly. But at least Harry likes me, I grin at my thoughts.

It's the early evening when Harry arrives after the lunch. He starts to tell me about today's lessons. All those teachers capable of teaching, are giving them lots of homework as they have too much freetime. Harry complains about Slughorn telling them to write three parchments about the use of monkswood. I told him that it should be easy for him as I told about it already on their first year. Harry shows me his tongue and tooks out his potions book.

He asks me to help him with the essay. He's got to be kidding me. I told him a teacher should never help a student with their homework before they have tried first themselves. Harry rose his eyebrow and sighed. He took a small table and a chair in front of him and started to scribble some essay. I looked at him so proudly. He even obeys me.

I watch the movements of his hand. They look elegant and his handwriting is beautiful. I smile and he lifts his head up asking what mistake he has done. I only told him that the smile is only for him being so beautiful. He leanes over me and kisses me passionately. He strokes my hair and I remind him about my greasy hair.

"Don't worry, Severus. No matter what kind of a hair you had, you're always the most beautiful person on the Earth for me." Tears started to drip on my cheek. I have always got complaints about my hair and me being an ugly git. Harry is the first one to think otherwise.

Harry rose up and put his concentration back on his schoolwork. I napped for about half an hour when Harry woke me up and told we should take a walk again. Madam Pomfrey was standing beside Harry and looked angry for that we had done nothing about it yet. I managed to sit up by myself and Harry only needed to give me a light support. I was already walking with no support and we went for a little walk.

Harry told me that maybe we should visit headmaster's office to see Dumbledore. We headed to the entrance. Harry told me that I was the headmaster once again as McGonagall had refused to take the job as I was still alive. I gave the gargoyle the password and we went inside the office. Harry went to Dumbledore's portrait.

"Hello, headmaster. Look, who I brought with me." He said gladly.

"Well hello, Severus. Long time no see. Harry told me how he managed to save your life. It's so good to see you. I have seen you in better condition but you still look good. Harry told me also that you had confessed your love to each other. One of the best news in my whole life. I hope to see you two married one day. You really are a cute couple, you know." Me and Harry both looked at each other and went all red. Dumbledore laughed at us.

"You are so alike. I thought you would never realise it. You both have found your home here and are strict. Maybe you really should have a talk of all this." He smiled and shook his head. We indeed, didn't know much about each other. Only what Harry saw in the pensieve.

"We have to go now, headmaster. Madam Pomfrey might get anxious. Goodnight. We'll inform you when something happens." Harry winked at Dumbledore who winked back. What were they up to? I asked Harry about it but he only told I would find out later.

We returned back to the hospital wing just in time. Madam Pomfrey was making the final round before returning to her own office. I got my medication and Harry kept on doing his homework. Pomfrey didn't even bother to send him off. She knew Harry wouldn't be kept away for long.

After a short silence only broken by Harry's quill scraping the parchment I told him maybe we should get to know each other better. Just to talk about all the stuff. He told me he would have the last lessons off the following day and then we could have a long talk. I agreed and let him continue his writing.

I opened one of Harry's school books to see what they are reading nowadays. It's so much different now. The spells are the same but they have much more detailed instructions. I even found some spells that I didn't know earlier. I came across a spell that produces a small amount of lubricant. Harry had underlined the spell and I blushed and put the book hastily aside. Luckily Harry didn't notice. I thought maybe I should try that one out the next time.

After an hour Harry told me he was ready with his potions essay. He asked me to check it. I told him that if I find a mistake I'll only tell him which one is it but not the right answer. His smile faded away. Typical for him. Granger must have been helping him too much.

"Sorry, darling. You need to learn by yourself and you still have a couple of days before the next lesson. Visit the library, dear." I suggested. Harry looked a bit happier and started to pack his stuff.

"I'll return tomorrow after dinner. Then we'll have a good talk, shall we." He told me and gave my crotch a quick squeeze. I begged him a goodnight and laid there motionless for a minute or two. That boy had been teasing me. He must have guessed that the squeeze turned me on.

I tried to fall asleep but a growing erection was preventing me. I had a picture of Harry naked in my eyes and it couldn't be helped. I checked out what other people were doing and they all seemed to be asleep. Just in case I surrounded myself with a silencing charm. Just wondering why we didn't come up with it last night. Although it was rather more interesting that way. I had to stop myself from laughing at the imagination that people might have noticed.

My extremely throbbing dick required attention and I only hoped Harry would have been here to make this easier. Someone coughed in the background and I was happy for the silencing charm. I want this to be fast, I thought. The medication had started to show and I was getting sleepy.

I grabbed my now full erect member and fiddled with the head. The precum had been dripping off it since Harry had squeezed it. I pinched my nipples and panted. I imagined Harry's hands running over my chest and caressing every inch of it. I could nearly feel his warm hands against my skin.

I ran my hand even lower and touched my pubic hair and stroked it gently. Maybe I should try to give it a shave some time. One hand continued to squeeze nipples and the other one grabbed my dick with force and wanted to be pleasured as soon as possible. I pumped my cock a couple of times and I was getting in ecstasy. I imagined Harry sitting on the nearest bed watching me pleasuring myself. That image sent me over the edge and I could feel the hot cum dripping over my tummy. I didn't even try to clean it. I only pulled my trousers up and fell asleep.

My night was restless as I was mostly seeing dreams of Harry. So many dreams to fulfill. In one dream I had a big quarrell with Harry about whether to get married. I didn't want and Harry shouted at me and promised he would leave me sooner or later if I didn't change my mind. Just after he had shouted that I woke up sweating. I would have even paid for getting Dreamless sleep potion to help me sleep better. I stared at the ceiling for a while and closed my eyes.

Next I was standing in the middle of the Great Hall naked and all the students were laughing at me and I didn't know why until it hit me that I was naked. I ran away and heard footsteps behind me and I saw Harry running after me clutching a pile of my clothes. He asked me why I had left my office without clothes.

Then I was sitting in an armchair back at home in Spinner's End reading a book with a small boy on my lap. It was my son and I had no idea who the other father or mother was. I was completely alone. Left only with the boy and the empty house. I was looking old and weary. Like I hadn't been happy for years.

The last dream was like recalling all the bad experiences through my Hogwarts years. First I was sitting on a chair with the sorting hat shouting Slytherin and it laughed in my dream. A heartless laugh. And Lily was laughing too. Then I was sitting under my regular tree with a book in my hands and James Potter was casting a curse on me. I wanted to run away but my legs didn't support me at all and I stumbled and was being hit by the Marauders. James hit the last hit on my head and all went black.

The next time I was standing in front of Voldemort with Lucius Malfoy. He had brought me to Voldemort so that I could become a Death Eater. I was proud that finally I got some appreciation. Voldemort took my arm and pulled me aside. I was thinking that now I'll get the Dark Mark on my arm but instead Voldemort cupped my head and gave me a hot and passionate kiss.

Then I was having my first day of teaching at Hogwarts. The students had disappeared somewhere and the whole school was empty. Suddenly I saw a small boy sitting in one corner with his face hidden in his arms and I heard a small cry. I went closer and asked what was wrong. The boy lift his head up and I was facing my younger self.

After that Dumbledore was sitting around his table and I was pacing back and forth in front of him complaining about the stupidity of Harry Potter. Dumbledore was looking at me with a sneer and told me I had to try to cope with my son better.

Next I was walking in the house of Potters' after Lily and James were killed. I stepped inside the room of Harry and lifted the dead body of Lily up. I turned her around and she transformed herself into young Harry Potter who casted Avada Kedavra on me.

I woke up and realised all that was just a dream. I had woken up by my own scream after I died for the killing curse. All these dreams bring up my worst memories and worst fears. Being left alone is my worst fear. I never got any friends and I am constantly afraid that Harry would leave me some day. I know I shouldn't think like that but I can't help it.

One of the legendary jokes in Hogwarts is that I could be the father of Harry. Yes, I am old enough that I could be one. But I never had any sexual intercourse with Lily so it's impossible. Sometimes I fantasised about having some fun with James. He was so dominating person and I like being dominated. Just like Harry did the other night. But the dream with the Dark Lord kissing me wasn't what I was in to. It was a horror.

I still have nightmares about the night when Potters were killed. I could do nothing to get rid of those dreams. What if Voldemort still had been there and noticed me stepping inside and getting sentimental over Lily's dead body? I could be dead too. Sometimes I thought that I should be dead so I could spend my days with Lily close to me. For the first year I attempted suicide once. Drinking so much alcohol that I would kill with overdose was my goal but Albus was fast enough and come and save me. I was immediately taken to the hospital wing and I was recovered soon. After that I had started to appreciate my life a bit more when realising how close to death I was. If I had killed myself I would have never experienced a day when someone really cares about me and I am appreciated by the whole school.

I fell asleep for a moment before madam Pomfrey came and told me I could get out from the hospital wing today. I got my last medication and nearly whooped with happiness. The bandage around my neck was completely removed and there was a long scar on my neck. It would have killed me but luckily didn't. I told her I'll wait for Harry to arrive and tell him the news.

I was reading another potions book when extremely happy looking Harry arrived. I told him I had a surprise for him and told I will get out today. Harry rushed to hug me with tears running down his face.

"I am so happy, Severus. Finally we get you out. Let's go and make your room ready for you. Remember what we promised yesterday? It's going to be a long day, honey." He took my hand and lifted me up. I looked at my lover cheerfully. He looked like he had just won the lottery and felt just the same way.

**All those memories**

Harry was nearly running towards my room and I had to tell him to slow down. I wasn't that energetic yet. I held his hand and Harry cuddled next to me. His warm hand was welcoming my touch.

"I love you, Harry. I would never had a better day to exit the hospital wing than with you." I grinned at the boy and he held me even closer.

"I love you too, my sweetheart. It's a pleasure to accompany you." He kissed my cheek and finally arrived to my room. The other people seemed to be having dinner. When getting inside I called a house-elf and requested two servings of dinner. It took only a couple of minutes to deliver. I told Harry that first we should eat and then arrange the place.

The dinner consisted of potatoes, chicken breast and boiled vegetables. I was happy to eat some proper food after lying in hospital wing. Potter was eating like he hadn't eaten for days, too. He told me he had been so worried about me that he hadn't had any apetite. I felt bad for him and said that now he doesn't need to worry about me.

After eating, mostly in silence I asked the house-elf to take the dish back to the kitchen. My office was in the same condition that I had left it about a week ago. Potter changed the sheets and I put my clothes back in the wardrobe. I had no idea for how long they would stay there as the term was reaching its end and I wasn't sure about what to do next autumn.

After the place looked at least alright I placed myself on my armchair and sighed deep. Harry stood behind the chair and hugged me from behind and told me to prepare for a long survey into my past. I was afraid what might be asked. Harry told me he should start asking me questions and then I could ask him anything. Wow, it's going to be a long night.

"So, Severus. Be ready for a long evening. Tell me something about your parents."

"Both of them are already dead. My mother, Eileen Prince, was a witch and a house wife. My father, Tobias, was a factory worker. They never got along well. So many fights ended in tears. My father was a physical type. He was hitting my mum and me a lot. I still remember those times when we were forced to leave the house urgently after father had arrived home drunk.

Going to Hogwarts was like going home that I didn't have back at home. My mother supported me a lot and knew I would be something big some day. She died one day after my father had attacked her with a baseball bat. He regretted it afterwards but ended up in jail and I had to learn to live by myself."

"That's so sad to hear. I saw in your memories that your parents were fighting. Must be dreadful. I already saw how you met my mother and how atrocious all the Marauders were towards you. Did you ever have any feelings for someone of them?"

"I hoped you didn't ask that one. I had a small crush on your father, yes. Don't look so scared. You are a bit like him. But only by those qualities that I appreciate. I graved to have a father figure and thought James was a bit like my father when he was torturing me with the other Marauders. I had to admit I like being dominated." Harry looked at me like I was joking. But as I kept a straight face he only moved onward.

"Ok, darling. That truly was an interesting answer. I like the idea that you like to be dominated. I am a bit like my father, a dominating one. What made you to decide to apply for the job of a potions master?"

"I was interested at potions very early on. I liked to feel all those scents around me. I must have a scent fetish, I think. I wanted to forget all that Death Eater stuff and thought Dumbledore would benefit my past so I could convey information about Voldemort to him. I wasn't so keen on being a fake Death Eater but I had promised to Dumbledore and promised to keep you safe.

I felt like the best way to protect you is to be close to you here at Hogwarts. At your relatives the love of your mother and her being the sister of your aunt protected you. Dumbledore must have told you about that one."

"Yes, he has told me. So you have a passion for scents. What do you smell when you sniff Amortentia?"

"I have never thought about that one. But I suppose lily, certainly, I like the flower actually. The smell of old parchment... Hmm, and the forest right after the rain. Yes, that's all I can think of."

"I already thought you might give me some really difficult potions answer. You have been quite a puzzle sometimes. Let's see. I've always wondered what you first thought when you saw me?"

"On the first day of yours in Hogwarts? I thought you must be just like your father. Being so lazy and stupid, I recalled. I was a bit prejudiced, yes. I was thinking that I was about to spend the next 7 years trying to teach some dumbass. Then I saw your legendary eyes. You must be really tired of hearing about your mother's eyes. But for real, they are identical. I thought there might be a little possibility that I might cope with you some day."

"You did a marvellous job, professor. Next is that who made you to become a Death Eater?"

"Lucius Malfoy. He must have had a crush on me or something. He had a relationship with Narcissa but he was always at my side and getting really excited when helping me. He even protected me from the Marauders. Maybe he thought it as some kind of a common hobby. It was a very stupid idea after all. I only wanted to have friends who liked me. I had no other intention to join that gang."

"It's good that you finally decided to be on our side. You must have murdered many people when being a Death Eater. Which murder was the worst, you think?"

"All of them. I never wanted to kill anyone. No matter if they were muggles, halfbloods, halfbreeds or something else. Voldemort had decided that everyone who doesn't agree to follow him, will be killed. He actually even tried to recruit your parents. Of course they didn't obey.

Voldemort told me that your father cursed me when he asked them. He had said that I was responsible for them being harrased. Your mother certainly was on my side. I think only the Dark Lord believed it wasn't me.

Back to your question. Once I was forced to kill one single mother with three kids. She refused to follow Voldemort and I was considering if I could only tell the Dark Lord that she wasn't there. But I wasn't so skilled at occlumency yet so I thought if I didn't kill her, I would be killed instead. The children were taken to a orphanage and their memory was wiped so they would have no recollection me being the one to kill her. That's how it usually went."

"I was thinking there must have been one you didn't regret at all but I am proud that you regret them. What was your last thought when you killed Dumbledore?"

"I was thinking that I won't survive for doing this and the hate all the people had for me would grow insanely. And that it doesn't matter what Voldemort and Dumbledore think, I am not a murderer. The headmaster wanted me to do it but finally it felt like something to do against me, like a plot to get me killed and hated."

"Sorry to hear that. I did hate you after that, I really did. But now the hate has gone and none exists anymore. Why did you start to drink alcohol so much?"

"So you noticed my problem with alcohol. I have tried to get rid of drinking. Sometimes I just wanted to forget all the concerns and float away from the cruel world. I did try to commit a suicide. With alcohol but the headmaster came to me just in time and had a good talk with me what was going on in my head. He told me that a suicide is never a solution and that I need someone to talk to. He was the first one who really listened to me. I didn't get rid of alcohol consumption but trying to commit a suicide didn't feel so good idea anymore. Now it's really for relieving my feelings if they get too harrasing."

I felt like I was about to cry when Harry walked to me and sat on my lap and hugged me tightly. I leaned my head against his shoulder and cried explaining Harry something about being too emotional. He only told me that everything is alright now and he'll be by my side. He gave me a tissue so I could blow my nose. It was good to tell him all this. So I would have no secrets anymore. I had hidden all this for too long and I was alone with my problem.

"Don't cry, Severus. I'm here to help you and keep you safe. Now it's my turn to protect you." He smiled at me and felt calmer. I thanked Harry and told him to continue asking me questions. "I have a couple of questions left. First of all, I would like to ask one quite personal question" He looked at me with a smirk. I was already quessing what subject he was referring to. "You like to be dominated. What would be your ultimate desire to do when having sex?"

I blushed completely and looked a bit nervous. "I really haven't thought about that one. I would like to be bound to my bed and maybe have some toys to play with. A bit of a spanking maybe." Now I was completely red and looked at Harry who seemed to have got some really pervert idea.

"Ah. We'll get to that later. I'll find out what we shall do about it. Who was the first person you had sex with?"

"Oh my, Harry. You're really giving me a hard time. I have to say it was Sirius. I know, now you think I'm completely insane. I did have one sexual intercourse with him. Not with any other Marauder. I ended up with him after the incident in the Shriekin Shack that you saw in the pensieve. He wanted to apologise. Surprisingly enough he had the idea that the apologise would contain sex.

He told me to meet him in front of the prefect's bathroom and we went inside. He filled the bath and took me there. He told me that it was his first time also. And I had thought he had tons of women hanging around with him and having a shag every other night.

Sirius was quite gentle and unsure too about what to do. He really did give a good blowjob. But yours was far better than that, sugar. I thought his first push was a bit hard as I was nearly screaming in pain. But otherwise it was very satisfying. I was being dominated once again as he wanted to be the top. I was thinking like I was the bad boy who had to be punished."

"Wow, Severus. That was quite a story. And thank you for praising my blowjob skills. You were the first one I gave a blowjob." Now I had to be honoured. He did an amazing job after all.

"It seems like it's my turn to ask you questions. I have always wanted to know more about the story of the boy who lived. First of all, I know your parents so tell me something about those relatives of yours who you lived with. Seems like they weren't that nice to you at all."

"Yes, mostly they were a horror. My aunt, Petunia, you have met. She really doesn't have any respect for wizards and witches. As you may know referring to my mother's past you have witnessed. She was a strict person but wanted to make sure I had a food on my table and I had clothes on me. She was mostly at home after losing her last job as a journalist.

My uncle, Vernon, was extremely strict. He always reminded me how much better person my cousin was and that I was a mistake that should have never happened to them. He forced me to go to a school that was only for bad boys and I was teased every single day at school.

They praised and loved my cousin, Dudley. He went to a fashionable school and got himself loads and loads of toys and games. He even got himself some new stuff so he could show off to his friends. I got only his old clothes and toys he had broken somehow. He really was a spoiled brat. I once saved his life from dementors and it took him a while to realise I did protect him although I nearly hated him. Before leaving the Privet Drive this summer, he thanked me for everything and I was happy that he did respect me somehow."

"We both seem to have led quite a horrible childhood. Did you have any good friends before entering Hogwarts?" I asked him a bit sadly.

"Not really, no. I had one when I started my first class. But that girl soon realised that she shouldn't be friends with someone who's being molested all the time. One day I went to talk to her she only ignored me and joined my classmates and started to tease me with them. Without Hermione and Ron, I might still be that molested boy in the cupboard under the staircase."

"I never really had any good friends either. Only your mother was kind enough not to harass me. Even Lucius gave me a hard time sometimes. Your story is so well known. What did you first think when all those people recognised you and you had no idea who they were?"

"That was before Hagrid had told me about it. He took me to the Leaky Cauldron and people gathered around me to greet me. I thought that it can't be any good. The people were happy but I felt like a warrior returning from the war and was thought to fight against the evil until death. After Hagrid had told me about my past, I first realised I wasn't just any wizard. Before that day I hadn't even known why I was different. Now I knew. I had hoped that people would respect me but not in this way."

"A bit like me. I wanted respect too but never recieved it until now. It took a while. You quite bravely managed to calm yourself up even though I was very evil at you. Taing points from Gryffindor, giving you a detention etc. How did you make it through without getting a mental breakdown?"

"I did get one sometimes. I was already hoping you would give up your job or return to being a full-time Death Eater. Also my friends supported me and told me that you weren't worth of casting a curse on you. I also thought that maybe some day you would find out that you really liked me or tell me that you love me. You meant too much to me. I wanted to have a chance to tell you some day that I did have an affect on you."

"Sorry for being such an ass to you all these years. I only tried to convey a picture to the Dark Lord that I was on his side. Like trying to get you mentally so broken that you would be ready to be killed. What was your first thought when you saw me arriving to the Astronomy Tower the night I killed Dumbledore?"

"I thought you were there to stop Draco Malfoy from killing the headmaster. But at the same time I thought that you were together with them and came to support Draco. Seeing you casting Avada Kedavra was one thing I would have never wanted to see. You really aren't a type who kills people. You are too kind deep inside."

"You must have been very suspicious of me all these years?"

"Yes. I thought that you can't stop being a Death Eater even though Dumbledore trusted you all along. Despite of that I always thought you were special and I wanted to have you in my heart. On the fourth year when we had the Triwizard tournament, I saw you quarreling with Igor Karkaroff. It looked like it was a lovers' fight and I lost my faith in the chance of loving you. I ran away after you gave me a hearing about the polyjuice potion. Then I really thought you hated me really hard."

"There has never been any relationship between me and Karkaroff. We were Death Eaters both and he also stopped being one later on. That time he still was one and I didn't trust him at all. Okey, next question. Did you ever have any passion for girls here in Hogwarts?"

"I did have a crush on Ginny Weasley and we were snogging few times but I got bored of her being so manipulative. She wanted me to be with her all the time. I didn't have any time to myself. Except when sleeping. But she was haunting my dreams, too. Finally I quitted with her. And I knew my heart belongs to you. I didn't tell Ginny. She might have thought I was only saying that because I hated her.

On Hermione both me and Ron had a small crush. Although now Ron and Hermione are a couple. They have been so good friends for so long. This battle made them realise that they might have a last chance to confess their love to each other."

"If you had a chance to change something you have done in your life, what would you change?"

"You really have smarter questions than I did. Well, one of the things was that I let Peter Pettigrew to run away from Sirius and Lupin's killing curses. He did too many bad things. Although I loathed him, I let him away. I'm so stupid. Another thing was when I tried to kill you after you had killed Dumbledore. I was so angry. I wish I had known the truth.

And being so naive when only seeing you being the bad guy on the first year. I only thought that you were trying to steal the stone. I wanted to protect professor Quirrel from you. I only saw that option. Otherwise I am proud of many things I have done. I have made wrong conclusions many times but have been able to see the truth finally."

"I knew you wanted to kill me, being the stupid git bringing you closer to Voldemort. Now it's time to ask you some deeper questions about your sexual life." I looked at him with a pervy smirk. "You asked me who was the first person I had sex with. Who was your first sexual encounter?" Now Potter gulped and looked like he wasn't about to answer.

"You, professor. Yes, I was still unexperienced. I didn't have anyone, really. Ginny was too excited about us being a pair that she didn't bother to think about sex. She only wanted to show everyone that she was with the Boy Who Lived. She was a jerk. I have been interested in Draco Malfoy, too but have never thought about having any intercourse with him."

"Wow, what a revelation. I feel sorry now for you not being my first one. But you were really amazing. I would have never thought you didn't have any previous experience. And my next question is, what do you think about my nasty fantasy?"

"I actually liked the idea. I saw you in my eyes, lying on the bed completely naked and tied to the bed with some toy sticking out of your sweet ass. It looked really horny, I think. I have fantasised sometimes that I would have a chance to try out playing with toys with... someone." He looked uneasy and stared at the floor.

"There's nothing to be ashamed of, my love. I hoped the vision would turn you on. I looked at your face at the same time when I explained it. You really looked like you already had something sexy in your mind."

"Yes. That sexy was you." Now he was as red as a tomato so I thought we could move on.

"That's so cute when you go red and try to cover your excitement. You don't have to try to be just normal when we discuss something like this. Oh well, this is my last question as I am getting sleepy. We can continue later. If you had a chance to have threesome, who would you like to join us?"

"I'd say Draco. I after all had a small crush on him. And he's young and always happy to try new things. He's on our side anyway."

"Yes, I heard about the Malfoys running away from the battle scene. I must admit I am proud of them. Running away from Voldemort didn't end well, usually. Lucius told me one day that the whole Death Eater thing was just ridiculous and that he would quit if he had a chance. I knew Narcissa was never into being one of them. She only had to because Lucius was a Death Eater."

"It must have been awful to do something that one would never do. They indeed the right thing. They didn't want to kill anyone in Hogwarts. Only playing along Voldemort until they had a chance to run away. I saw them escaping. Some Death Eaters tried to call them back but they disapparated quite soon after leaving."

"Well, back to us. It's nearly time to go to sleep. Where would you like to sleep? Back in the Great Hall or here?" I asked Harry and he looked really excited.

"Here, of course. No one would notice if I didn't arrive in the Great Hall."

"That's nice of you. I need someone to warm me up, I think. It's a bit cold here. I have one spare nightshirt in my closet. You can go and try it out."

"No thanks, sweetie. I think you are warm enough to keep me warm, too. We only need a blanket." He tried to look innocent, like he had no kinky ideas about sleeping in with me. I told him that I would put no nightshirt on either and told him to cuddle next to me.

Harry laid next to me and leaned his head on my shoulder and other hand on my chest. It felt nice to have a warm and soft body next to me. It wouldn't be any cold this night here. Harry told me goodnight and I whispered an answer into his ear. He giggled a bit.

"I love you, Severus. You are my everything. I couldn't live without you."

"I love you too, Harry. Now, let's get some sleep." I wasn't so used to say any loving words to anyone so it was difficult to come up with anything. I laid awake for an hour or so. The snuffling sound of Harry's breathing made me fall asleep, too.

**The revelation**

The next morning I woke up and saw that Harry had already left the bed. He was dressing up and cramming his books in his bag.

"Good morning, sunshine. I didn't dare to wake you up. You looked too beatiful when sleeping. I ordered some breakfast from the kitchen. It's on the table, there. I already ate and am ready to leave to my first class. I will come back later after the lessons. Have a good day, Severus." I waved back at him and stood up.

I took my dressing gown and put it on. I checked what the elves had brought us. Besides the usual Hogwarts breakfast with bacon, eggs, sausage, bread and tea, the elves had also brought us some apple pie. How nice. Harry must have ordered it specially.

I thought about going for a walk around the castle after the breakfast. I dressed up in my usual teaching robes. I think they are the best items of clothing I have ever had. Exceptionally comfortable, they are. I had to try to find the blouse. I must have left it somewhere. I found one on the back of the chair. It was ironed and clean. I was happy that I hadn't dress up in a too small one. The jacket I had ordered from Madam Malkin's seemed to be getting smaller as I had gained weight since that day.

I walked through the corridor. No one was around as many students were having lessons. The term was reaching its end and some students were just hanging around or doing their homework when I reacher the hall.

"Hello, professor. It's good to see you in good condition. I heard you nearly died." came a familiar voice and Draco Malfoy was standing there.

"Good to see you too, mr. Malfoy. So you came back after the battle. I heard that you managed to escape from the Dark Lord with your parents. You must be really proud as not many others would have dared to do that. And you look good, too. I'll see you later, mr. Malfoy. I'll go and have a little walk."

"Thank you for your words. My parents wanted to send you their best greetings and told me to tell you to get well soon." I nodded at Draco looking pleased. I was afraid he wouldn't dare to show his face here after betraying the school and joining Voldemort.

I entered the Great Hall and went to see how people are coping with the situation when tons of students must live in one big hall. The floor was covered in school trunks and mattresses. Some people had brought sleeping bags. A few students were sitting on the floor and some were still a bit injured and preferred to stay there. I got an applause when I entered the hall. I was modest and didn't dare to talk to people. Some students thanked me and some Hufflepuff boy came and shook my hand.

I just kept on walking to the teachers' table that was still in moderate condition. Few bits and pieces were missing. I sat on my usual seat, before becoming a headmaster. I took a parchment and quill I had brought with me and started to write a letter.

I wanted to write to Kingsley Shacklebolt to thank him for helping Harry to show the court my memories so I was safe from trials concerning me being a Death Eater or killing Dumbledore. I let out a few drops of tears when thinking about what might have happened if Harry hadn't visited the Ministry.

I went to the owlery and took one barn owl and told it to send the letter. I stood by the window and stared at the sky watching the owl to fly away. I was already hoping the summer to arrive so I could be free for a couple of months. I was hoping to return to Hogwarts next term. This had become my second home ever since I arrived here for the first time.

I went back downstairs and decided to go for a walk outside. It wasn't dinner time yet so I had some time off. I walked towards the tree I used to sit under. Sometimes I did all my homework there and enjoyed sitting there all the spring and autumn. I sat down and took a book from my bag. It was the other book that had saved my life with its potions. I accidently found a receipt for a love potion. I thought laughing that I wouldn't need that one. Using a potion wouldn't possibly quarantee a happy relationship.

After about quarter an hour I decided to go and visit Hagrid. I hadn't visited him for ages and thought maybe I could pay him a visit. I knocked on the door and heard his dog, Fang, barking inside. The voice of Hagrid told him to shut it and opened the door.

"What a surprise, professor. Well, c'mon on in." Hagrid let me in and I sat on one of his huge chairs. Hagrid started to make some tea. Fang was lying next to me and looked at me. Felt like he hadn't seen me before.

"What do you think? Are you gonna teach here next term?"Hagrid asked.

"Maybe I should. I was thinking about returning to teach potions. But I will consider it better during the summer. I heard Slughorn would want to retire. And McGonagall told me that no other person would fit better to do that job." Hagrid gave me a big cup of tea and I sipped it. Last time I drank his tea, it was the worst tea on earth. This time his tea making skills really have improved.

"You indeed are a great potions teacher. I insist that you return." He gave me a smile behind his enormous beard. "We all hated you when you killed Dumbledore but I realised that he made the wrong decision, not you. He should have protected Harry and let him know early enough what was expected of him."

"You are right, Hagrid. I was really sad when I found out that Harry must be killed before the Dark Lord would die." I spent an hour sitting in Hagrid's hut until I realised the dinner had already ended. I was angry at myself for not checking the time. I told Hagrid I should get back to school and order some dinner from the kitchen. Hagrid said bye and closed the door behind me.

They are all completely right that I should continue teaching. I was only a bit concerned if all the parents would let me teach so I thought that we'll see what happens. I went through the hall and headed to the dungeons. I stormed into a couple of Gryffindors who were late from the class and were running on the corridors.

"10 points from Gryffindor for running here and another 10 points for being late for the class, mr. Longbottom and mrs. Lovegood." I told them. They both scowled at me and looked suspicious whether I could still be able to take points from the houses. Later I found out that the points had been taken from Gryffindor indeed.

I went back to my room and ordered some dinner there. Before the arrival of the dinner I took a cauldron and thought that I should try to make some potion from the new books. I had already tried out those two I had given to Harry. I flicked through the books and the love potion was haunting me. I had no idea what to do with it but I decided to give it a try.

I gathered all the ingredients. Happily I noticed I had all of them and didn't need to go and ask professor Slughorn. I was about to add the first ingredient when I heard a knock on the door and one of the house elves was standing there with a tray full of food. I thanked him and the elf bowed deep and mumbled something about me being an amazing wizard for respecting elves. Yes, they are not so used to hear thank yous. Normally they are treated like slaves.

I placed the tray on the table and noticed it was the day for one of my favourite foods. I had big plate full of mashed potatoes and meat sauce. I muched my dinner happily and sent the tray back to the kitchens. I was full and decided to take a nap before continuing making the potion. I put the book away just in case Harry entered the room and would start wondering what I was doing.

I fell asleep time I didn't suffer from nightmares. More like I was having all those dreamy dreams about happy life with Harry. I had slept for a half an hour when I woke up. I wanted to progress with the potion. I opened the book and started adding ingredients. Some of them were quite expensive and I thought I shouldn't waste any but I wanted to give it a try.

I had succeeded quite well with the potion and it had to brew for an hour. I checked the time and noticed there was still time until lunch and I was happy that maybe I could finish it before Harry arrived. Just in time before the door opened I had put the potion into a phial and take away all the ingredients and the cauldron.

Just before dinnertime Harry knocked on the door and I invited him to step inside. He looked a bit nervous and told me that I should join all the others at the Great Hall. I agreed and was happy to see all the students and staff who weren't in the hospital wing. I was smiling happily at the boy who looked quite bashful. I was wondering what he had in mind.

I took my cloak and put it on. Harry told me to hold his hand when walking to the Hall. He told me that McGonagall had invited the whole school to give some announcement to everyone. We walked in silence and the only noise to be heard was our footsteps. When arriving to the Great Hall, more and more voices echoed.

I was blushing when Harry told me to hold his hand tighter. I knew that now it was the time to tell everyone about us. Just before the summer holidays start. We both took a deep breath and opened the doors to the Hall. All the people set their gaze on us. People were looking at us in amazement when we held hands.

It was going to be the end feast of the term as many treachers were still in the hospital wing so they thought the students were free to have their holidays this early. We both sat around the teachers' table. People were whispering and checking on us every now and then. Harry leaned his head on my shoulder with a dreamy gaze. I kissed his head and put my arm around him. After a while McGonagall plinked her goblet and the hall went silent. They were used to be quiet when she did that.

"Could I have your attention, please? We are gathered here to spend the last dinner together before the holidays. At the same time we have an announcement to make, as you may have noticed, possibly. I think it's better to let mr. Potter to talk. He has a lot to say. You're welcome to start, Harry." finished McGonagall.

"Thank you, professor. As you all know, the Dark Lord has been conquerred and everything is looking good. My last fight with him ended up him being dead and now we are about to start a new life with the evil gone. There's one person who is the one to thank the most. He protected me all these years at Hogwarts and he cared for me.

I had a pleasure to save his life after the battle. It took him a couple of days to recover from the attack of the Dark Lord. But now he's here among us looking better than usual. Everyone, let's give us a round of applause for our own potions master and headmaster, professor Snape." I stood up and took the applause. People gave me a standing ovation and I had to let my tears flow.

Harry hugged me and bent my head a bit downwards. Before I could do anything, he was kissing me passionately but gently. We got even more whoops and people were whistling. After the kiss I opened my eyes and some students and staff were in tears, too. "So as you have noticed, I have been hiding this from myself, from professor Snape and from everyone. Not believing my feelings. We both wanted to show you that when you're truly in love, not the age, profession, nor gender matters." Harry sat down and I did too. McGonagall stayed standing while the others sat down. She was teary and spoke with a very tremulous voice.

"That was so beautiful, Harry. Now, let us begin the feast. After the feast, don't leave. There's still something more to say."

The feast was the longest of the year. People had so much to talk about as some of them hadn't seen each other for a while. There were quite a few who had got out from the hospital wing after me. I let my gaze wander around the hall and noticed that quite a few students were seated in different house tables. Maybe the war has brought more and more students together. Even some Slytherins had joined the Gryffindors. I have to be poud of them able to break the barriers between the houses that are the biggest enemies.

I wasn't that hungry after the dinner in my room but I took a plate full of food. After the main course the tables were filled with different pies, candies, and pastries. I took a sip of my butterbeer and suddenly a piece of a pumpkin pie was tucked into my mouth. I mumbled with surprise. Harry was feeding it to me.

"I can eat it myself too" I told him. But he only looked at me with his puppy eyes and I melted. He took a spoon and gave me a piece of the pie. He fed me the whole piece and then gave me a deep kiss. I answered the kiss and as I opened my eyes McGonagall was looking at us with a broad smile. Hagrid was wiping his eyes with a tissue and Slughorn was trying to desperately hit the piece of an apple pie on his plate while watching us. After the dinner, it was Harry's time to stand up first and ask for the attention.

"Thank you for your attention. I forgot to thank all of you for all these years and especially for the final battle with the dark forces. We all did an amazing job. I hope he was the last enemy to destroy for at least the next century. We should never have such a battle again. The school will be rebuilt until next term starts and all you, younger students will return to this school that will be in even better condition than ever.

Now it's the final thing that I want to say." Instead of continuing his speech he stood in front of me with a loving smile. What was he up to now? I was stunned when the boy kneeled in front of me. I would have never quessed.

"Will you, Severus Snape, marry me?" He took my hand and bowed at me. He took a small box from his pocket. Opening it he showed me a silver ring. Tears were instantly running down my face.

"I... I will, Harry Potter." I managed to answer between sobs. This all was so sudden. I heard sobs from all over the hall. With teary eyes I held my hand for Harry to place the ring on my ring finger. It fitted perfectly. Harry took out another box and let me put his ring on his finger. Harry stood up and told me to stand up, too. He was crying too.

He cupped my face into his hands and pressed his lips against mine. I parted my lips and let Harry's tongue to play in my mouth. I moaned quietly and Harry chuckled when hearing my moan. He let me go and leaned his head against my chest.

"I love you, Severus."

"I love you too, Harry. You have made my day and my whole life. You're the best thing in my life"

Now the applause was even more louder. I looked at our audience and many people were crying from happiness. I tried to find Ginny Weasley from the Gryffindor table. I was afraid that she's be ready to kill herself after this but she seemed to be enjoying this.

After that McGonagall told us that it was time to go to bed and people should get their mattresses and sleeping bags out. They had been taken to one corner for the dinnertime. When we were leaving the hall many people came to us congratulating.

"That was amazing, guys. I would have never thought to see this day. You are such a wonderful couple. I'm really looking forward to follow your relationship progressing." Screamed Hermione with enthusiasm. Ron was holding her hand and they looked happy together. "We're not engaged yet, but it will happen sooner or later." Harry hugged them and took my hand to leave the hall. He sayd goodnights and we headed to the dungeons.

Suddenly I had an idea. I opened one classroom door and pulled Harry with me. He was surprised. I pushed him on one table and started to kiss him intensely. I forced my tongue hard inside his mouth and Harry nearly choked. I pulled back and started to tease him by running my finger over his nipple, although he still had his shirt on.

Harry had been wearing his school tie in honour of the feast and our celebration. I started to pull his tie from around his neck by pulling from the knot. He breathed deep and slithered under my touch. I was pulling him closer by pulling from the tie. He looked really hot with the tie gone and shirt half open.

I glided my hand up and down on his hairless chest. I took his shirt off and looked at my precious boy sitting on the table, legs spread wide and panting. What a sight! I would have paid to see that 24 hours a day.

"Please, Severus, don't tease me."

"Someone did tease me too. Let's see what shall we do with you." I panted in his ear. That made the boy groan aloud. I continued sucking his nipples one at a time. Harry started shaking under me and I held him up so he wouldn't fall down from the table.

I stood between his legs and felt his erection pressing against me. I swayed myself a bit so I kept moving my hips over his dick. Now Harry screamed and begged for releasing his hard on from his trousers. I took off his jeans and his boxers were already wet from the precum. I tickled the head of his shaft through the fabric and Harry jumped in surprise.

With the other hand I kept playing with his nipples and the other hand I slided up and down his inner thighs. Sometimes I pinched his balls and continued teasing him. The boy was in ecstasy and I hadn't even started yet.

Harry was begging for mercy. I slipped my hand inside his boxers and held it there for a while only to feel the dick twitching when feeling my touch. Hearing his cursing made me grin. But I eased his suffering by pulling his boxers off with a swish.

I had the most beautiful member right in front of me. Harry was watching me watching it.

"You must like it by the way you're looking at it. I know you want it, I know you do. You are far too horny to leave it alone, Sev." That nickname had only been used by Lily and now Harry calling me by that name made me want him even more.

"That's the best dick in the world, you know." I said and took it in my hand, slowly starting to glide it inside my mouth. I relaxed the muscles in my mouth so I could take it all the way in. Harry was trying to push his cock deeper inside my mouth but I kept him in place so I wouldn't choke.

I sucked Harry's dick with spinning my mouth around a bit. His member tasted so good with the precum. Harry wiggled by the feeling I gave him. My tongue was playing with his shaft and the head of it. I kissed the head and strated to move his foreskin back and forth with my hand. I took my own dick and held them both in my same hand and wanked them in unision. I did it for a while until my own erection was really hard.

"Would this young man want something inside his anus?"

"Yes, Severus, please"

I lifted Harry in the air and carried him next to a wall. I told him to lean his hands against it and bend over. The skinny boy obeyed immediately and I saw a tight and clean anus right in front of me. Before letting him to have some quality time, I asked him where he kept his condoms. Harry told me to search his bag. After a short search I found one.

I opened the packet and soon Harry was kneeling in front of me. He told me that he could place it on my dick. I gave him a permission. He placed it over the head and then he opened his mouth and by using it rolled it over my entire member. I was amazed at how he managed to do that.

"Now we are ready, sweetie" He smiled.

He bent over slowly so I could enjoy the view more. I wish my bum was still that sexy and round. I'm too old to have something like that. Harry's buttocks required attention. I gave him a gentle slap. Harry was very pleased by the moan he gave me. I slapped him a bit harder a couple of times until his buttock was red. I also slapped the other buttock.

I took my dick and guided it to Harry's tight hole after placing some lubrication on my dick and his anus. I placed my cock at the entrance and Harry cried out loud when I tried to push it in. I told him to relax his muscles so it wouldn't hurt that much. Harry complied and it helped a bit. I know my dick isn't that small so I was prepared that this could take a moment.

I placed some saliva on his hole and Harry shivered. I told him that he should be ready now and I placed an inch of my dick into his anus. This time Harry groaned a little and seemed to be in pain but he just nodded and let me continue. Have to admit that he's quite brave for not letting the pain to distract him.

I pushed my member inch by inch inside Harry. Little by little he seemed to relax and moan even more louder. I leaned forward so I was able to whisper into Harry's ear.

"You look really sexy when you moan and blushing like that."

"Oh, Severus. Fuck me, please!" Harry answered my whisper nearly screaming when I pushed hard all the way in. It felt good to feel the heat of his body around my dick. He was so tight it nearly made me explode immediately but I managed to hold it in.

I took Harry's dick in my hand and pumped it lightly and the boy trembled. If I hadn't held the boy up, we'd be lying on the stone floor in no time. Harry moaned that he wants me to fuck him senseless. I licked the boy's back and bit his neck, leaving a bruise on it. Harry screamed in surprise and groaned a little telling me not to bit that hard.

"I wouldn't complain if I were you, Harry. You might get me tempted to pull my shaft out of your hot, tight and sweet anus, my dear." I panted into his ear. My words alone made me groan and I only managed to tell Harry I'm going to cum when I exploded inside his anus.

At the meantime Harry had started to pump his dick and cried out loud when he came with a force. I kneeled on the cold floor and took Harry's dick inside my mouth and licked it for a while so that the last piece of his cum spilled from his dick. Harry sat on my lap panting. I hugged him tightly and told him he should be the top from now on.

"You are far too good at that job, you know." I winked at the boy. Harry slided on the floor and got up, giving me his hands to help me up from the floor. Harry gave me a kiss and took his clothes from a pile on the floor.

"Should we clean the floor? It seems like it's a bit stained, you know." He looked at the floor and I noticed a puddle of sperm there. Harry used a cleaning spell to remove it. We dressed up and checked that the corridor was empty. We headed back to my room.

**Our future together**

Harry's trunk had been brought into my room. He told me that he had asked the elves to deliver it there as he had no intention to go back to sleep in the Great Hall. I suggested that maybe he should spend the last night with his friends.

"Oh no. I need your company more. They have been with me all these years. I only want to be with you." The boy looked happy and sat in the armchair. I took a sofa opposite to him and Harry looked like he had a lot to say.

"You know. It's the end of the term and I won't be in this school anymore and you will be back here, possibly. So we wouldn't see each other anymore." Harry let his tears flow rapidly and I shook my head.

"You know. I have been thinking this thing. Is it true that you actually don't have a home at the moment?"

"I... I have the Grimmauld Place. But I have no will to go back there. It's just an empty and dusty old house with the horrible mother of Sirius cursing everyone and the old elf, Kreacher. They're not the company I want to have." He seemed even more sad and scared too. I pitied him, really. But I love the boy more than anything so I should help him.

"Don't cry, my love. I have been living all by myself for years and years in Spinner's End in this old and dusty house. I don't have any house elves of nasty mothers there but it's a home. I have been too alone these years and have been hoping to have some company there. It's nothing so special but it's a home. It's situated in this old factory village with rows of brick houses. You could join me there but if you'd rather return to the Grimmauld Place..." Next I was having a pair of arms around my head and lips against mine wanting for a deep kiss. I let him kiss me passionately. After a while he parted and sat on the floor in front of me.

"Home' ish or not, I really want to join you. Your home is my home and your offer is the best offer I've recieved in years." Harry cried in happiness and looked like I had given him a win of lottery. The boy seemed to be getting sleepy and he grawled on my lap. I placed a kiss on his forehead and soon he was snoring. I took a better position and fell asleep as well. In my dreams I saw one more nightmare hoping these would end soon. They made me lack of sleep.

I was standing in front of my house and looking at a person walking towards the house. I thought it must be Harry who is arriving finally. I had already prepared the house to greet my new lover back home. As the person approached, I noticed it was Shacklebolt who came to tell me that Harry had died in a accident on the way here.

Harry had been flying on a broom and had hit a storm. A lightning set his broom on fire and the boy fell on the ground and didn't have any possibility to survive. Shacklebolt told me that in the school they had told him to contact me about what had happened. I told him that Harry was supposed to move in here and he had been on his way. He told me to follow him so I could identify Harry's body.

We arrived about 100 km away from Spinner's End and there was a lying body on the ground that moved no more. I rushed to see the body and fell on the ground when seeing empty, green eyes staring at the sky. I buried my head into my hands and felt a hand on my shoulder trying to comfort me. It was Ron Weasley who looked nearly as shocked as me.

Ron told me that nothing could have been done. Harry was dead when he had been found. I stood up and leaned my head against his shoulder and let a hopeless cry to fill the air. After crying for few minutes, Shackelbolt told me that the boy should be buried the following day. I promised to take care of it.

The following day all the people close to Harry were standing on a graveyard in Godric's Hollow. Harry was being buried in the same grave that was the grave of his parents. I stood above the open grave looking at the body of my lover, pale and fragile. I lost my consciousness and woke up in my dream when Ron and Hermione were shaking me up. The grave had been closed and I was told to place my flower on the knoll. I had brought a bunch of lilies along with few roses for him and I barely could walk when walking to the grave.

It had been the last time I had seen him alive, in Hogwarts. And now I was wittnessing a burial of the boy who lived. A young man with so much life left but now he was gone and I had lost two loves of my life.

I woke up sweating and with tears in my eyes. I had to make sure Harry was alive and I tried his pulse. He was in normal state. He was smiling in his sleep and looking so cute when sleeping. I thought I could carry him onto the bed.

I lifted the small boy on my arms and placed him gently on the bed and covering him with the blanket. I sat on the bed for a while fondling his cheek. I gave him a kiss and set myself on the bed too, falling asleep soon without any nightmares.

I was woken up by Harry who told me to get up and dress up. He told me that the train was leaving in two hours. We had slept for quite long. We had decided to join the rest of the students on the train back home. I hadn't been on Hogwarts Express since I've been a student here. But Harry wanted to take the train one more time.

I stretched myself and dressed up slowly. I was still very sleepy after last night's fun. Harry was already on his feet and jumping up and down in the doorway telling me to hurry up so we don't miss the breakfast. I was a bit grumpy as I thought I had woken up too early. Usually I would have some time to sleep longer as normally I wouldn't take the train.

I told him to slow down as he was rinning down the corridors. We had time to go there until the train leaves. Harry told me that he wants us to sit around the Gryffindor table. I raised my eyebrow and frowned. Gryffindors... Yeah, right. I'm still not that ok with having to hang out with other Gryffindors other than Harry. But I thought it's the last chance for him so let him have it.

There were only few students this early. Usually everyone arrived here just before the train left. We sat on the other end of the table. Soon we were accompanied by Ron and Luna Lovegood.

"Hermione already had eaten her breakfast like an hour ago and she wanted to have a quick look in the library before we leave. She is thinking about returning here to finish the 7th year. I am just too lazy to do that. I am planning to join George with his joke shop." told Ron. I already had guessed he wouldn't return. He told that the academic life wasn't for him just like it wasn't for his twin brothers.

"I'm not sure about what to do yet. I plan to start to plant some magical plants and move later somewhere in the countryside. But for now I'll return to my father's house. I hope to see you two soon. I will miss all of you." said Luna. She was always kind to people but this time she really looked like that she'll miss us.

"Don't worry. I'm sure we'll gather around somewhere during the summer. Just wait for my owl and we will organise a meeting and everyone can bring their news. I am now moving in with Severus. He's living in Spinner's End so you can visit us, too."

"If I let you in." I answered with a grin. Harry poked me in the ribs and told to shut up, laughing.

"It would be nice to visit you. Maybe we can meet there with all the people. Do you have any plans of marriage or something like that?" Ron's question came of all sudden and Harry lowered his head and murmured something about not yet. He was red so he had something in his mind.

After a plate of breakfast we had a short talk with them and Ginny Weasley who had just arrived.

"You must have thought I would be angry at you for taking Harry, didn't you?" Ginny asked me.

"Yes, for a while I thought so. But then I saw you clapping your hands as eagerly as everyone else so I thought you had given Harry a permission to date someone else."

"Yeah, I realised that I was too narcist for him. I had seen him glancing at you every now and then and I realised that he had some feelings for you. I was really relieved when I see you two together."

"It's good to hear. I was afraid at what people might think but it seemed like it was no surprise. Rumours go around in this school quite rapidly. I want to thank all of you for supporting us. I was happy to hear that even quite a few Slytherins were happy for this engagement." I told them. Harry got up and raised his glass and offered a toast for us. We were quite happy with the support of the whole school. Maybe I could have a chance to continue teaching here. I had made it clear that I don't want to continue being headmaster.

After everyone had gathered in the hall to leave the school with their trunks, we headed to the train station. On our way Harry was quite talkative. He seemed to be a bit sad for leaving the school and at the same time quite relieved thinking the battle was over and the school would be in its former glory in the autumn.

"Do you still remember the time you entered these gates?" Harry asked when we passed the gates of the school.

"Quite clearly, actually. I was so happy to be here with your mother. She was as happy as I was. We walked together hand in hand and waited for our boat talking about what we could do here together. And she was so proud being there. I told her that she must be in the same house as I would be. I knew I would be in Slytherin. Hearing Gryffindor from that sorting hat, broke my heart."

"I'm just wondering what would have happened if you had ended up in Gryffindor or the other way around. And what if you had married my mother. You would be my father!" Harry gazed at me and his eye twitched. Now I remembered my nightmare. Oh my. Well, I never had sex with Lily so it's just a nightmare.

"Then I wouldn't be engaged to you right now, Harry. I'd be waiting you at the King's Cross station later today when you'd arrive there after the school term. Or then I would be dead along with your mother." I fell silent and Harry gulped.

"I'm quite frankly happy that you aren't my father. I had another question. Just like me, you were walking out of the school for the, you thought, the last time. What did you think?"Harry asked.

"I was thinking that I would spend a miserable life with no love nor family. My parents were dead and I was supposed to be living alone. I was in sorrow when your mother came to me and told that she would get married with your father and asked if I could be a quest in their wedding. I said yes and got a bit happier when thinking that I would still see her."

"What was it like to be in their wedding?" Harry was curious.

"Your mother was beautiful in her dress and your father was so proud of her wife. I was quite grumpy when seeing them kissing and dancing together. I was so jealous. The other quests seemed to be really happy for them. I was ashamed to be there and I was the first to leave the party. I didn't have any intention to stay. I went home crying."

"I'm really sorry for what my father did to you. I now understand how evil he was to you. It's good to hear that at least my mother cared about you." Harry finished and we walked in silence to the platform. It was already full of students trying to find their friends to gather in the train.

We found an empty department and sat down. Harry sat next to me and leaned his head on my shoulder and took a hold of my hand. Soon he was snoring. The night, indeed was long. I looked outside and watched the station of Hogsmeade to fade away. I hoped this wouldn't be the last time I see Hogwarts. I saw a last glimpse of the castle behind the woods. I leaned my head against the window and rain started pouring about half an hour after we had left.

The long train ride made me sleepy. The woman with the candy trolley passed by and I decided to buy some candy for when Harry wakes up he could have some. I bought some pumpkin pies and chocolate frogs. Then sat back on the bench and fell asleep. I was woken up by Harry who had found the frogs and had just found a card he didn't yet have. At least it was useful to buy some.

"Thanks for buying these, honey. I left you some pie and a couple of frogs." Harry cheered. I told him he could keep all the frogs and took a pumpkin pie instead. After Harry had opened all the frogs, he sat on the bench and looked at me smiling.

"I would have never dreamed I would be going home finally. I have never felt like some place has been my home. Only Hogwarts was like a home but now I'm really going home. How are we going to travel to Spinner's End?"

"I thought we could do it the muggle way, take a train. It's not so short trip but you'll see more places that way. I haven't taken a muggle train for ages. It feels like the magic was gone and all that was left were those unmagical things."

"Don't worry. I'm used to those muggle things. Don't forget I used to live with three muggles for quite a few years." How could I forget all those horrors Harry told me. At least now he would live with someone who really loves him. Since his parents died, he has only lived with people who did it only because of a promise Harry's aunt gave Dumbledore.

Mostly the rest of the train ride I talked to Harry about my apartement and what it was like. He was really interested in everything. He had never properly lived in a house with magic inside. He had been in the Burrow and the Grimmauld Place but never lived in either of those. My house was a bit like the latter one but the Burrow was more organised and cleaner.

The train arrived at London and people packed on the platform. Harry told me that he had promised his friends that we will meet them at the other side of the gate. I glanced at the platform 9 ¾ once more and disappeared on the other side of the gate.

There were quite a few of his friends waiting for us. Harry hugged all of them and some even came to hug me. They still looked a bit scared of me. A couple even gave me a bear hug and said bye. Harry cleared his throat and had to give his final word.

"Now it's time for us to depart. We will leave to Spinner's End on the next train and as I told many of you, wait for my owl. We will invite you to visit us during the summer. But now we'll have to leave. See you, guys!" Harry waved and I nodded at the kids.

"That was quite an easy goodbye. I was about to cry when I had to leave them standing there. But our train leaves soon. I asked some timetables on the train and they had one. We have to hurry. I think we should buy the tickets on the train." It was difficult to hurry up and drag your trunk with you. Even I had one. It was easy to carry and drag around. I had spared mine since I went to Hogwarts. It wasn't in that fashionable condition but it served properly.

We hurried among tons of people. I nearly lost Harry once but he had stopped to wait for me.

"Don't be so slow, old man." He laughed and ran away when I tried to catch him to give him punishment for calling me old. Too bad I couldn't take points from Gryffindor during the summer. I catched him on the platform and looked at the train that would take us home. It was so new and shiny compared to Hogwarts Express.

Harry took my hand and pulled me towards the end of the train. We tried to find a quiet spot with not so many people around us. Finally we located one corner that was quite nice looking. On the same department, there were some other people but they seemed to be too concentrated on everything else.

The train left soon and we sat in our seats waiting for the conductor. I sighed and thought there is no way going back anymore, luckily. Now I had the man of my dreams with me. The conductor woke me up from my dreams. Harry paid for the tickets and right after the conductor had left, he sat on my lap, facing me.

"Hello, my love. You must have thought I didn't have any nasty plans for you on this ride, didn'y tou?" He kissed me and slithered his tongue inside my mouth. He seemed he wanted to play. He started to open the buttons of my jacket.

"There are so many of them. Ever considered buying one with no buttons?" I shook my head and smirked. It was good I didn't have to do anything but wear my jacket to tease him. After opening few buttons, he gave up and decided to sway his hips so his crotch was pressing against mine. So this is what he was up to.

I felt my erection to grow and Harry noticed it smiling as broadly as he could. I was afraid that people might hear my groan. Harry placed his hand over my mouth.

"Don't you remember what happened last time when we had people around us and you kept some noise, do you?" He grinned. I hoped he wouldn't tie me up this time. But I only nodded at him and he let go of my mouth.

Harry slided on the floor and started to open the zip of my trousers. I started to get even more hornier when he took my erected member out from my underpants. I wiggled under his touch and Harry gently and slowly moved his hand down to the root of my dick. After his hand, followed his mouth. His wet and hot mouth made me go dizzy.

Suddenly I heard a voice close to us. Now we're in trouble. But when I checked out who it was, it was just some man who passed us by and didn't seem to notice anything. Or then he decided he hadn't seen anything. Seeing a young man giving an older one a blowjob, might not be that attractive sight.

"Nearly got caught. Hm, shall we continue?" Harry sighed in relief and continued sucking my dick. I was scared that someone might catch us somehow. But I just let the good feeling take me away. After a very short time of my dick reaching Harry's throat, I was cumming so loudly that now someone must have heard. I saw drops of my cum running down Harry's face and neck. He was too surprised of all sudden that he didn't manage to swallow it all.

"Woah. That was more than I expected. It seems that you get excited about the possibility of getting caught." Harry sniggered. He was right. I never would have guessed that. Sometimes I actually have hoped that someone might interrupt me when I have been wanking in my bedroom. But no sane person would end up in there.

Harry took a tissue out of his pocket and cleaned his face. I told him to hold it for a while and told him to lean close to me. I licked a small bit of the sperm from his face. I wouldn't say it tasted nice. Awful, more like. I grimaced and Harry laughed.

"Who told you to taste your own cum? It tastes better than you think, actually." He licked his lips clean and kissed me. Harry sat back on his seat and stared out of the window. I followed his gaze and saw an owl flying next to our train. Harry looked perplexed. It was too early for owls to appear. Harry opened the window a bit so he could lean out and catch the bird. It was holding a letter on it's leg and Harry took it thanking the owl that flew away. He opened the envelope and I didn't recognise the handwriting.

"It's from Mrs. Weasley." I was amazed. "She writes that she is delighted to hear about our engagement and that we should visit them soon. Ron and Ginny told her immediately about it when they met their parents outside the King's Cross. She tells us that we can connect to their house by floo so we can visit them. That's all what she writes. Funny that she was so quick with her letter."

"She is very determined person. Looks like we have no other chance than just visit them some day. But maybe we should invite people first to visit us. But there is a lot to be done before we can invite anyone. My house is like a horror. So unclean at the moment."

"We'll do something about that later on. Now, let's just enjoy our first trip together." I had to give a smile back to Harry. On the long train ride we visited the restaurant train once to buy some coffee and bread to eat on the way. Harry looked sad when he asked if they had any butterbeer. The clerk asked what it was. Harry then must have realised that we are in the muggle world now and they don't know such a thing. Harry apologised and we left.

"You know, muggles don't know butterbeer yet. And possibly neither they know pumpkin juice nor Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans." I laughed. It was Harry's turn to look grumpy now. "Don't worry. I recall having some butterbeer back at home. I left it there before I took my way to get nearly killed by Voldemort."

Harry looked a bit more content after hearing about the butterbeer. I didn't dare to tell him about the bottles of whiskey. I hoped some day I could only throw them away and forget about having to drink to forget or to feel better. It wasn't so good idea to show my worst side to him, a person who loves me for being what I am and not for being something I am not.

"I think we should visit Diagon Alley some day to buy some stuff. I would like to have a new pet as I lost Hedwig last summer." Harry looked a bit sad and stared out of the window. "Maybe a new owl or something."

"Sure. I haven't had any pet for years. I did have an owl when I was a student but when he died I wasn't so keen on buying a new one and I didn't have that much money either. Speaking of Diagon Alley. Have you heard what happened to Gringotts after it got destroyed?" Harry nearly started to cry. I knew it was partly because of them.

"I heard some goblins are alive and they are keeping the place open while they build a new building above all those vaults. The vaults are still in good condition. Only the vault of Bellatrix, that we managed to break, is in not so good condition. I'm just wondering what will happen to all that gold. Maybe Narcissa inherits them. But she's quite rich already. Hmm, let's not think about that. Are we there soon?" Harry wondered.

"Only one stop left, it 's been a really nice trip. We are going to be very sleepy when we arrive there."

After about half an hour the train stopped and we took our luggage with us. I told Harry that my house wasn't so far away from the train station so we could just walk. I walked quite fast and Harry complained about leaving him behind. I slowed down and panting Harry ran to me.

"You are too used to walk like you were flying. Where's your broom, by the way?" He asked.

"I left one at Hogwarts and I have one at home. Did you know that I can fly without a broom? That scene in the Great Hall when I flew through the window wasn't just imagination." I told him.

"So it was true. I was amazed to see that. How did you learn it?"

"The Dark Lord taught me when I had just started being a Death Eater. He really relied on me and had good faith in me. He told me that it could be useful to teach someone to fly. I don't know why he chose me but it has become useful a few times."

"Could you teach me?" I looked stunned and told absolutely not. I am the only living person capable of doing it and it's not that good skill to teach him. Harry looked disappointed but decided that he wouldn't be able to change my mind. That memory of Voldemort teaching me to fly brought too many bad memories with it.

After walking for a while we halted in front of a door of an old brick house. I told Harry we were there. Harry looked up and down gazing at the old and dark house. He looked a bit suspicious. Maybe he thought that no living person could live here. I asked what he thought at this point.

"I thought you'd have a nice garden or something."

"A garden... A garden? If you mean a real garden with flowers, fountains and stuff, no. But I have a small area at the back of the house where I plant some ingredients for potions and also for eating them." Harry looked relieved. Maybe he thought it was only the house and nothing else.

I already thought I had lost my key as I rummaged my bag and trunk. Then I checked the pocket of my trousers and found it. Harry was laughing looking at my desperate attempt to find it. I sulked at him and opened the creaking door.

Harry rushed pass me and threw his luggage in one corner. He started to run through my apartement asking everything he could come up with.

"Where is your bedroom? And bathroom? What about kitchen? On which side of the bed you want to sleep?" I stared at him with my mouth open. I told him to ask one question at a time and started answering his questions.

"Bedroom is upstairs. Bathroom can be found in the hallway. Kitchen is in the room on your left. And my bed is big enough for both of us and I think you can choose your own side."

"Okey dokey. Can we go to the bedroom so we can arrange our stuff?" Harry was so enthusiastic that he ran the stairs up and I had to remind him that he had forgotten his trunk. I told him that this "old man" wouldn't be able to carry both of our trunks. Harry ran back downstairs to the living room where I was still standing with my trunk. He took his luggage and started to drag it upstairs.

I took my time and patiently climbed the stairs. Harry was already unpacking his stuff and asked where he could place his clothes. He showed the small amount of clothes and I told him that the other side of the wardrobe was quite empty so he could use it. Harry thanked me and started to place his clothes there. I told him he could put his cloaks in the closet where mine were, too.

Harry opened the closet and put his cloaks there. Suddenly he fell silent and he took a costume out of the closet. I saw what he was holding and went silent.

"This looks familiar. You don't mean?" He asked.

"Yes, you know what that costume is. You have seen similar on many Death Eaters. That was mine when I was still being active Death Eater. Don't worry, it's just there to remind me about what I should never do again. It's like a memento to me. I have no intention to throw it off but no intention to put it on either. You can find my Death Eater mask on the upper shelf, if you want to see it."

Harry put the costume with black cloak and black jacket with a hood and a belt for a wand, back into it's hanger. He reached up to grab my mask in his hand. I hadn't taken it down for quite a long time and it had got dusty. Harry blowed the dust away and looked at it.

The mask was silvery and it had deep and artistic engrvings on it. Harry turned it around a few times and I saw tears falling from his eyes. I told him to put it back and he complied. I told him to come to me and gave him a warm hug. The boy had seen too much horror made by people wearing similar clothes to those in my closet.

"I'm happy for your choice to stay out of the Death Eater gang. Could I try those on some day? I'm not going to be the next Dark Lord, absolutely. But the costume has always looked nice." I raised my eyebrows in surprise and told him that he could try it on but now we should have some sleep.

I put the rest of my clothes in the closet and watched Harry undressing himself. I asked whether he needed some nightdress here as it was a bit cold now. He shook his head and laid himself on the bed. I was undressing myself when Harry spoke.

"You look really cute when you're half-dressed, you know. It's one of the last scenes I see in my head when I'm going to go to sleep." Harry giggled like a little girl. I cleared my throat and pretended being busy with finding my nightdress. Harry asked what I was doing with that. I just told him it was for teasing one little Gryffindor.

I fell on the bed and gave Harry a goodnight's kiss. He told me that this was the first real home for him and he couldn't imagine anything better than to be with me here. Harry snuggled under my arm and fell asleep. I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer either.

**Living together**

I must have snored out loud as Harry was looking at me quite sleepily next morning. His hair pointed in every direction and he looked like he hadn't slept at all.

"Oh man, you snored last night. Is there any potion to fix it?" I nodded and Harry told me to brew some. I didn't know I snored until now. "That wasn't the main reason for me not sleeping that well. I had tons of nightmares."

"Sounds familiar", I agreed. "I had many nightmares after killing Dumbledore. I couldn't sleep for months without the help of alcohol or sleeping potion." Harry looked worried and I told him that I should get rid of those as soon as possible, especially for him.

"I walked around your house before you woke up. I found quite a few empty whiskey and wine bottles. I had to be happy for them being empty and not full." He came to kiss me and told me that together we could fix my little problem with sleeping. A little? Alcohol is an awful solution and as Albus said, it's not an answer to problems.

Harry suiggested that we should collect all the bottles and have them recycled so they would never be in our sights anymore. I agreed with him and started to dress up. Harry rummaged through the closet and put some sweater and jeans on. My clothing is more formal with a black shirt and neat black trousers.

"Black all the time? Your teacher clothes are black and your normal clothing is black. You never get rid of that habit?" He laughed. I looked at my clothes and told me that I would never get used to wearing something like pink. We both laughed for a while.

Harry went through my bedroom and found some Riesling wine bottles and few Skotch whiskey bottles. He took one of my backbags and started placing bottles there. I told him to get some more bags as my house is full of the bottles. Harry sighed and lifted up the bag from the floor. I checked if he had missed a couple of bottles. He had found them although they were quite surely hidden.

I took a couple of bags and went after Harry downstairs. He was picking up bottles from my table with tears in his eyes. I told him that I can pick up the rest of the bottles. Picking them up seemed to be getting more and more difficult as the amount of them didn't seem to end. Harry sat down on a chair and I continued searching for more bottles.

"You know, Sev. I'm more than happy to be with you. I don't know what your life would be like if there was no one to take care of you. You really could destroy your life with alcohol." Now it was my turn to cry. I realised that he had saved my life also by moving in with me. I picked up the rest of the bottles from my cupboard and checked under the chairs. I found some also under my sofa. I must have thrown them there after emptying them in despair.

I sat on the chair beside Harry and threw the bags on the floor. Harry looked at me with a faint smile. My eyes must have already been red and Harry wiped some tears from my cheek and gave me a tissue to blow my nose.

I stood up and told Harry that we should get going and we should go to a grocery store on our way. Harry was happier and asked if we could buy some sweets too. I laughingly told him to remember what I said the day earlier about Bertie Bott and pumpkin pies. Harry murmured and showed me his tongue. I did the same back and Harry was laughing his socks off.

"You really look insane when you do that." He said kicking the door open. We walked outside and the warm spring morning greeted us. We didn't have a chance to have a breakfast as I didn't have much ingredients to make some. I told him that we could have a walk around the area the following day. Today we should begin to brew the potion for my snoring and maybe have some welcome feast. Harry's eyes were shining from enthusiasm.

We reached to the recycling bins and Harry immediately threw some bottles there. I told him that I should throw the rest and kind of a throw my old problem aside. Harry gave the bag to me and watched me proudly. He must have felt that he really can affect other people's lives. I was really relieved when the last bottle had gone inside the container.

Harry asked me where the store was. I told him that I'll lead the way. We saw some people on our way and some of them were whispering when seeing us. Maybe they thought that I had kidnapped a young boy who had no idea what I had in mind. I scowled at them and they turned away. I was sad that people were still so prejudiced about sexual minorities.

"Why are people looking at us? Have they never seen humans?" Harry was amazed.

"This is quite a small place to live so people don't expect anything unusual to happen here. Usually everyone knows everyone. Except me, I know no one, except a young man next door who I have visited a couple of times."

"Just like my aunt and uncle. They never were so keen on knowing unusual people." That explains their attitude towards wizards.

We passed a couple of stores and arrived to the grocery store. Harry asked what we should buy. I asked him whether he liked some fish. Harry agreed and suggested salmon and potatoes with it. We halted at the bakery counter. Harry was like a little kid at a sweet store. I told him we could bake some pumpkin pie so he wouldn't need to buy anything from there.

"I need to buy some milk and flour to make the pie. I have quite a few baking ingrediets at home already. Would you prefer to carve a pumkin or should we buy some mashed pumpkin?" Harry preferred the latter one complaining about the work to do. I told him that there was still the magic. But he didn't agree on carving it, with wand or not.

I tried to pass the sweets quickly but Harry crabbed my shirt and pulled me back. He looked at them drooling. I told him to take anything he wants but I wasn't so interested to buy anything for myself. Harry took some chocolates and chips.

Harry insisted on paying for half of the ingredients. I disagreed first but Harry didn't give up so I let him pay for them. He took the bags and stormed outside. The sun was shining and it was warm. I should't have put a long sleeve shirt on.

The boy was running happily back home. I hoped I still had that much energy. He's 20 years younger so no wonder he was waiting for me for a few minutes in front of my door. He asked whether I had stopped having a tea with the queen on my way. I gave him a fake laugh and opened the door.

Harry put the groceries in the cupboards and the fridge. He asked whether we could start to make the dinner already. I told him that I should put the fish in the oven and he couls start to make the pie. He asked for a recipe and I told him that I never use one. So instead I started to tell him the amounts and instructions while flavouring the salmon.

Harry asked if he could use the wand instead. I shook my head and told that I wasn't used to using magic too cook. He whined and I told that if he insisted he could use it. Harry ran upstairs and was holding his wand. I rolled my eyes and continued working on the potatoes watching Harry waving his wand and the pie was ready to be put in the oven. I told him to wait until the salmon was ready.

Harry went to the living room and returned with a book. I asked him what he had found.

"Seems to be a book about Quidditch. And it's from your bookshelf. Quite unusual." I told him that I once wanted to be in Slytherin's Quidditch team but was too afraid that I would get badly injured. Harry told that he still remembers the first match when Quirrell wanted to kill him and that match when Lockhart had tried to mend his hand, managing to remove his bones from his arm. I laughed when remembering the latter memory. Harry buried his face into the book.

Mostly I was cooking and Harry reading. Sometimes he commented on something curious he found in the book. Then I remembered something I had written and drawn in the last pages. But it was too late. Harry had found them.

"WHAT? Could you explain the last pages of this book?" I had hoped he would never notice them. I remembered the picture clearly. It was a badly drawn picture of me and James Potter riding a broom and me doing something not so innocent with James's wand inside his trousers. And the texts weren't that innocent either.

"Snivellus Snape 3 James Potter. My biggest dream is to ride his broom some day. The wooden one or the fleshy one. Holy crap, Sev! What were you thinking?" I was all red and tried not to laugh.

"Yes, I had those dreams when I was at Hogwarts. Your dad was kind of my idol with all his Quidditch skills."

Harry's eye was twitching and I don't know whether he was going to laugh or to die from embarrasment. He laughed and told me that he knew about me loving his mum but this was something new to him. He asked me why I hadn't shown him that in my memories in the pensieve. I told him that it wasn't something I wanted him to know. I was too ashamed of having those thoughts.

I sat opposite to Harry and asked him what he thought about my passion for his father. He answered that he thought I might have had some passion for him. After all I had had sex with Sirius so it couldn't be that impossible.

"I could never imagine having any deeper contact with your father. He was after all an enemy for me. Now, let's put that book away. Or you can read it in the evening in the bed. Now, as you've found my secret, there won't be any surprises left in that book."

I took the fish from the oven and placed it on the table along with the potatoes and put the pie in the oven. Harry looked so hungry that I told him to grab some food for him. He didn't need to be told twice. I sat around the table when he was already munching the food.

"I must say your cooking skills are amazing. This is so tasty, indeed. What do you think we should do today?"

"I thought about staying here today and tomorrow walking around the village. I have one plan for the late evening so don't get tired too early." I winked. Harry looked at me curiously. I told him that it had nothing to do with my wand or his wand so he could take it easy. Harry looked a bit disappointed but smiled at me.

The pie was nice. Although made with help of magic, it tasted incredible. I think the only person who can make excellent food with the use of magic, is Molly Weasley but Harry is even better. And that is something.

After the dinner I was too lazy to wash the dishes so I only flicked my wand to clean them. I told Harry that I could show him my "garden" now. Opening the back door Harry sprinted outside and stood there for a while and said that it looked amazing.

It's only a small garden with some herbs and magical plants growing. I told him that I normally use them only for potions. Harry picked up some herb from the ground and tasted it making a wry face. I laughed and told that he shouldn't eat everything he finds there. There was one tree in my back yard. It was an apple tree that was blossoming at the moment. Harry went to sniff some of its flowers and looked at some birds flying over us.

"You know. I thought about inviting the people here. Not yet, don't worry. But I think we should clean the house. Have you ever considered really giving it a new design? It's so dark at the moment."

"That's just my style as you may have noticed. But I have thought it sometimes. Maybe we can go to Diagon Alley to buy something. Maybe next week. There's still summer holidays left."

In the late evening I told Harry that we shall go for a walk outside. Harry put his trainers on and standing outside the house I suggested that we should disapparate to some place. Harry asked me where but I only told him that he'll see soon enough. I took his hand and we soon apparated to a hill about 10 kilometers from my home. It was a high hill and you could see nearly the whole Spinner's End from there.

"Wow, it's a beautiful sight."

"I thought we could see the sunset from here. That's why we came here so late in the evening. I brought butterbeer and some of the pie with me so we could sit here and eat while watching the sunset."

We sat on the grass and Harry was already holding his hands to grab the butterbeer bottle. I had one for both of us. I gave him a piece of the pie and we ate in silence. After eating, Harry laid himself on the ground and placed his head on my lap. I caressed his hair and cheeks. The boy was muttering happily when feeling my touch.

"The first sunset with you, my dear Sev. Maybe we should come here every now and then. The place is so beautiful. And so are you." I laid myself on my belly on the ground fiddling with Harry's chest. I gave him a deep kiss using my tongue. Harry closed his eyes and just enjoyed it.

I kept brushing his hair and watched the sun going down. The sky was getting red and the air was getting colder. I laid my cloak around us when sitting next to Harry. He placed his arms around me and stared at the sky.

"I love you, darling."

"I love you too."

Harry stood up and told that maybe we should get going as it's getting late and he's getting sleepy. I suggested that we could walked down the hill before disapparating. Harry moaned about being too sleepy. I told him that I can carry him on my back for a while. He agreed and I carried him nearly the whole way down. After a short walk, we disapparated.

Harry sat in my armchair browsing the pages of the Quidditch book. He found it rather interesting. I told him that he could keep it if he wanted. He told me that maybe he shouldn't. Someone might think he had some perverted fetish of watching me and his father having fun together.

The boy fell asleep in the chair and once again I had to carry him on my bed. I took off his clothes shamelessly and left only his boxers on. He was wearing black ones and I thought about him telling me about wearing black. Soon I was sleeping too. The potion for my snoring was still brewing. It would be ready the following day.

The next morning I checked the potion and bottled it cleaning the cauldron only by waving my wand. I was too used to cleaning it this way and sometimes the potions might burn a bit from the bottom of the cauldron so it was the easiest way.

Harry woke up as I called him to have a breakfast. I had made some fried eggs and sausage. Harry took a sip of his orange juice and looked at me like waiting when we shall leave the house to have the walk around the village. I was still very sleepy and told him that I shall have a nap first. He told me that he shall continue reading the book while waiting for me to wake up.

After my nap I saw Harry sleeping on my sofa and I went to ruffle his hair so he would wake up. He gor scared and jumped up wondering what hit him. I laughed beside him and the boy looked at me angrily. I told him that it was the time to leave.

The sun was shining and it was a perfect day for a walk. For Harry's surprise, I had found myself a white shirt to wear. We took our way to walk through the village. Mainly it was only the old brick houses down the alley.

I showed him some stores that were on our way. Harry said that he had seen something interesting and refused to tell me what it was. He just told me that I will find out some day what he had seen. I didn't ask anything more as he told me to wait and see.

Harry asked whether there was some park nearby. I told him that we can go there if he wants. He said yeah and we headed towards the middle of the village. I told him that there wasn't much to see but it was a comfortable place.

The boy stood behind the gates leading to the park. The old gate creaked open and Harry looked quite puzzled when seeing it. It wasn't like some fashionable garden. Just an old park with few benches and a small pond. He walked to the pond and gazed his picture from the surface.

"It looks nice. Although it's not what you're used to see nowadays. I look quite bad at the moment. I have lost so much weight. That's why I haven't had any will to look myself in the mirror for ages."

"That's the reason why I don't have any mirrors back home." I sat on a bench and Harry sat next to me and sighed telling me that maybe we should get going back. I asked him what's the hurry. He only told me that he isn't in the mood of staying here whole day.

I was wondering what had gotten into the boy and he only claimed being tired so we headed back. We had been outside for a couple of hours only. Back at home I asked if there was anything he would like to tell me. He sat on the sofa with bent knees and staring at the opposite wall.

"I just don't know. Sometimes I want to forget all the bad memories. Sometimes I get those stupid flashbacks just like in the park. I still remember moments when I was chased by Dudley's gang in the park nearby and they teased me there quite a few times. I never got over it. Just being there sitting with you, made me feel a lot better. Maybe I need only support to get over it."

"You will recieve as much of a support as you need from me. I care about you. You made me to change my life by throwing away those bottles. And I will help you to get rid of those ghosts of your past." Harry looked a bit happier and nodded. I placed my arms around him and he sniffed a bit showing that he indeed needed some help.

**Diagon Alley**

The following week Harry had settled quite well but was complaining about the darkness of my house. I told him that black was still my favourite color and it wouldn't change. The boy muttered something about an old git and ran away when I wanted to give him some punishment.

Harry told me that he'll go to see that interesting place in the village and I should wait back home. I wasn't so interested in going out today. We had planned to go to Diagon Alley the following day. Harry shut the door and I was left in silence sitting around the dining table. I fiddled with a spoon in my hand and realised that maybe I should start cooking the lunch.

The boy arrived back just in time for the lunch and he went upstairs to take what he had bought, there. He came back, holding a book in his hand. He told me that he had found a book that might interest me. He had gone shopping in a couple of stores and took some buns and baked rolls out of his bag. I told him that we could have baked some too. But he was faster.

Harry handed me a book about some herbs and told me that I should flick it through to find some new ingredients for potions. I thanked the boy and he was right indeed. I should get to know more and more about the ingredients although I had already teached potions for years. There was always something new to learn.

After the lunch, we saw a white owl flying behind the kitchen window. Harry looked at it and asked me if I was waiting for some mail. I didn't have any idea what for the owl was here. We went outside and the owl flew on my shoulder and straightened his leg to let me untie it from it's leg. We sat on the porch and I read the letter.

"_Dear mr. Snape and mr. Potter,_

_I am pleased to announce you that the staff of Hogwarts and the Ministry of Magic have considered in mutual understanding to ask you for teaching at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry._

_For mr. Snape we offer the post to teach potions in the school and for Mr. Potter a chance to start to teach flying. The former professor of flying, Madam Hooch, decided to retire and so did the former professor of potions, Horace Slughorn._

_We offer you both a chance to start teaching in the next term, starting the 1st__of September. I will wait for your owl to bring the news of your agreement of disagreement._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Minerva McGonagall_

_The headmistress of Hogwarts"_

"They were really fast with the letter. They must have thought about you teaching flying. You are an incredible Quidditch player and everyone respects you. I already had considered returning there to teach the potions. They are a huge part of my life, anyway." I looked at Harry, who seemed like he didn't know what he should do.

"I have no experience on teaching and maybe people expect too much of me." He worried.

"Don't worry, dear. When I started teaching I had no experience in teaching. I loved my subject, like you love flying. That was my motivation. I wasn't so much into kids but the love for potions made me finally do it."

"If you will return, so will I. I don't want to let you spend your whole year there. You would have so little time between the terms. Should we send them an owl immediately? We don't have one, by the way. How are we going to send one?"

I suggested that we should buy one when we go to the Diagon Alley and then send one with it. We were actually going to buy an owl anyway. Harry missed his owl, Hedwig, so much and we should get one to deliver mail. Harry asked me what else we should buy. I suggested some clothes as neither of us actually had so many. I promised we could buy some furniture. Not from Diagon Alley and certainly nothing pink!

Harry was hoping to find himself a new broom. I told him that maybe he really shouldn't as he's going to teach and shouldn't be sporting with a flashy broom while the students used those old school brooms. I asked him whether he still needed a new wand as his former one had broken. Harry nodded. Ollivander had reopened his shop a couple of days earlier so it would be easy to find one. I told him that we could think more about it the following day when we get there.

In the evening Harry decided to ask me more questions about my past. Last time was when we still were in Hogwarts in my room.

"What is your wand made of, actually? I've never heard of it. Was thinking about it when we decided to go and buy me a new one."

"It's english oak with dragon heartstring and the lenght is 11". Just an usual one. You have seen it anyway."

"I think it looks great. I wish I would get a new and good looking wand. My last one served me so well all those years that it was nearly like a part of me. And of course it was connected with the Dark Lord's wand and it had to be destroyed. The Elder Wand was in my possession for a while. I considered that I would keep it but I realised that it wastoo dangerous to own it, the most powerful wand in the world. And another thing. For how long have you been wearing those old cloaks of yours? Ever thought about buying some new cloak?"

"I've had the same clothing style since I first started as a teacher in Hogwarts. And yes, I have considered buying something new. Maybe I should try some out this year. The black robes are the best still, so you won't have a chance to change my style completely."

Harry snuggled under my arm and hugged me tightly. He put his legs around my hip and rub his head against my upper arm. I looked at my young lover with passion and rubbed his nose with my index finger. The boy moaned and yawned, looking quite tired. I watched him closing his eyes slowly and fondled his back.

"Tomorrow is going to be a long day. But the best way to spend it, is with you, my love." Harry told me. I smiled at him and watched the boy parting his lips, ready to be kissed. I didn't wait long, his mouth looked too tempting and placed my lips gently on his, biting his lower lip lightly. The boy screamed in surprise when I did so with a bit more force.

Harry parted our lips and bit my neck. It wasn't that sore anymore so I just let him bite it, making a bruise on it. He sucked the spot and bit it with force. I was completely sure, I should wear a long neck shirt the next day.

"I love you, Sev. Now, let's get some sleep before having to wake up too early tomorrow." He hugged me and put the lights out. Normally it meant that you had to blow a couple of candles. Harry had been complaining about the darkness of my house so I had had to buy some new oil lamps.

The next morning Harry was already up trying to pull me up from my bed. I blinked my eyes by the sunlight coming through the windows. Harry had pulled the curtains aside to make me get up sooner. That boy was just too eager sometimes. I would have liked to sleep a bit longer. It was 9 am and I wanted to sleep.

Harry had made some breakfast and I walked into the kitchen like a zombie who had just woken up. I sat around the table and Harry put a plate in front of me, full of bread and bacon. I stared at it for a while until realising I was supposed to eat.

"I already ate a while ago. I wanted to wait until you wake up but you did sleep for too long. I burned the eggs and had to throw them away so that's why you only have bread and bacon. Here, have a cup of coffee." I held the cup and poured some coffee down my throat. It cheered me up a bit.

I went back upstairs to dress up. I went to bathroom to check my neck. Harry had insisted buying a mirror there. The bruise was quite visible and Harry came there laughing and making fun of the bruise. I wasn't so angry at him. It just was too visible for people to notice it. I put a shirt with a longer collar on. Harry was a bit disappointed. Maybe he wanted to show people what he had done to me. I smirked at the image of Harry showing my bruise proudly to people.

We had decided to apparate to London. I didn't want to use a broom and floo network wasn't so comfortable either. We apparated near the Leaky Cauldron, behind an old house with not so many people around. Harry hadn't yet made the apparition test so he wasn't legally able to apparate. I suggested he could do it after he had returned to Hogwarts.

We stepped in front of the Leaky Culdron and the sign appeared. Last time I had been here was when Lucius Malfoy offered me a drink. And that night was long. I was now wearing a high collar, white plain shirt and black jeans. Just like my usual garderobe. Harry sported his usual t-shirt and jeans. He told me that we should look as much of a muggle as possible. I would have wanted to wear my cloak but Harry didn't agree.

We stepped inside the Cauldron and walked past the counter. The barman was waving at us and some other people noticed us too. We didn't have any intention to stop and have a talk. We only said byes and walked to the back yard. Harry used his borrowed wand to open the gate to the alley.

Harry told me that we should visit Gringotts first. I knew I had to withdraw some money too. I didn't have much cash at the moment.

The building still looked quite damaged although they had been rebuilding it for a while now. Not all of the goblins survived from the attac but the remaining ones had been hardworking. And they had recieved lots of help.

We stood for a minute outside the bank and only stared at the entrance. After stepping inside, the chaos was worse. There were a couple of counters and few goblings sitting behind them. Some people were fixing the furniture and walls. I started to hope that Hogwarts would be in better condition when we return there.

First we took off to my vault. The small goblin looked quite curiously at us. He told that our work had been markable and now every magical character knew us. Of course Harry had been famous since he survived Voldemort's attack all those years ago.

My vault was quite empty with only a small amount of galleons. Harry stood in silence and gazed at the tiny pile in the corner. He sighed and looked a bit sad. I knew he was the rich one but I was used to having not that much money. When I still lived with my parents, my father used to spend the spare money on drinking. I took a bag of money and we took off to Harry's vault.

The boy looked a bit ashamed when the goblin opened his vault. I watched with my mouth open when he took some money. I hadn't seen so much gold, except in Bellatrix's vault. But in her vault, it was mainly golden objects but Harry's was full of money. Harry looked down on the ground when walking back to the carriage. Maybe he was ashamed of having so much money compared to me.

"Don't worry, love. You don't have to be afraid with all that money and me having nearly none. I'm used to it. You'll cope with the idea soon. I'm used to spending and sparing decent amounts of money. I had to learn it when I was young already." I told Harry.

"The amount of money in your vault and in my vault... The difference is so huge. Have you considered putting your money into my vault? We are living together now. I think we could spend the same money. Not having to see you with so little money."

"I haven't thought about it. We can discuss it when we get on the ground."

We arrived at the hall of Gringotts. Without asking me anything, Harry ran to the counter asking about moving my money to his vault. He goblin looked suspicious so I went there too, telling him that it's ok. He nodded and asked us to sign a contract.

"The money will be moved within a week. We'll charge a small amount of money for the move. We'll send you an owl when the project is ready. Mr. Snape's vault will be available to another customer immediately. I have to ask to get your vaults key." I handed the goblin my key. It didn't matter if they took some money from my vault. It was so small amount of money I had there.

We walked outside and Harry immediately told that he wants to have the new wand first. Ollivander had reopened his shop so it was clear that we should get the new wand from there. We stepped inside the shop. Luckily it was far before the term starts so we would have a chance to take good look at the wands.

Ollivander arrived from the back of the shop with an enormous smile.

"Well, good morning mr. Snape and mr. Potter. It's so good to see you. You both are legends now. I heard about your loss of your wand. I was already expecting to see you here. Didn't you manage to snatch a couple of wands during the summer?"

"Yes, those were the wands of Bellatrix Lestrange and Draco Malfoy." I looked at him my eyes wide open. How had he managed to snatch their wands? "However, I though that I should get myself a proper wand. I killed the Dark Lord with Malfoy's wand but I'd prefer a wand that understands me better." I stared at Harry with my mouth open. Harry told me not to look so surprised.

Ollivander went to the back of the shop and returned with a couple of boxes in his hands. He put them on the counter and opened the first box. He told that it was hawthorn, the core was unicorn hair and it was 10,5" long. Harry tried it but the wand decided to explode one box of the drawer in the corner. Harry went red and looked ashamed.

Ollivander stared at the drawer and showed Harry a wand with beautiful, leaf-like carvings. It was maple with core of dragon heartstring and 12" long. The boy looked at the wand and took it in his hand. He managed to make a flower bucket out of nowhere, giving it to me. He told that this should do. A bucket of flowers and that's it? But well, he had decided to take it.

Next we headed to buy the broom for Harry. I had told him not to buy a fashionable one. But Harry insisted on buying a new model of Nimbus 2010. He went inside the shop and in front of the new model, there were a couple of kids looking at it. Harry stood next to them and one of them squealed when seeing him.

"He's Harry Potter." The little boy told the other one. "Hey, mr. Potter. Are you going to buy a new broom, too? We are going to go to Hogwarts this year. Our mum said that she would buy us brooms but the school says that we can't have ones." The boys looked a bit disappointed.

"Don't worry. The brooms in the school are good enough for even playing Quidditch. You can have brooms on your second year." The boys looked a bit relieved but still sad. "I will see you in the school this autumn. I will be teaching you and you will be good at flying after that. What are your names?"

"I'm Neil Wright and this is my brother Christopher. Our big sister, Victoria is already in Hogwarts. She's in Hufflepuff. But we would like to be gryffindors, just like you mr. Potter." Neil smiled at Harry and Harry patted him on his head telling him that he would be delighted to see them in Gryffindor. Their mother arrived into the store and told the boys that they should leave soon. After stepping outside I heard the boys telling their mum that they had been talking to Harry Potter. And their mum didn't believe it. I sneered at them.

Harry paid for his wand and took it under his arm. Harry told that it was Madam Malkin's next. It was fun to enter the shop in better condition than last time. Malkin noticed it immediately telling me that she had already hoped to see a healthier me. She had also heard our story and was chattering all the time when taking measures. Harry wanted to have a new robe for flying and I needed the new robe that was something different.

After taking the measures, she asked what kind of a robe I would like to have. Harry interrupted reminding us that it shouldn't be like my legendary one. I asked for a bit shorter one with not my normal bat-style. I told her that it could be green-black and maybe a wide belt around it. I asked for no hood but a high collar. Harry requested for a normal school robe but no house colours. Malkin said that they should be delivered in a couple of weeks.

After Malkin's, Harry told me that we should absolutely visit the Honeyduke's. I told him that I will go to one shop and arrive there after him. He said okey and disappeared into the store. I walked towards the Magical Menagerie. It was popular amongst the students who would buy their first pet. I already saw some kids hanging around the shop and checking pets in the store windows.

I went inside and decided to buy two owls, instead of one. If we both needed to send separate letters. The clerk arrived and asked what I was looking for. Harry's former owl, Hedwig, was Snovy owl and I decided to buy some other species. The clerk told that the barn owls were popular and I decided to go for one. I spotted one a bit older owl sitting on a perch. I asked about the owl and the clerk told me that it's in awesome condition although for being old one. I told him that I'll buy it.

I decided that I would keep that owl myself. I didn't want to see Harry losing an old owl. I looked around the shop and in one corner, there was sitting a lonely and calm tawny owl. I thought that it would keep nice company to Harry if I wasn't around. It looked like that little fellow needed some company too. I paid for both owls and took my way to Honeyduke's carrying two cages with owls inside.

Harry had already bought a couple of bags full of candy and was carrying them with holding them up with his new wand. I laughed at the sight. Harry looked like it was his birthday again when he saw what I had bought. I told him about those two owls and he looked extremely happy to get a new pet after Hedwig's death.

We had only one place left to visit. It was the furniture shop. I wasn't so enthusiastic about going there. Harry would surely want me to buy something flashy. I just told him, that it's black or something dark. No pink nor anything like that.

We had decided to visit a muggle shop that was located quite close to Leaky Cauldron. We left our stuff there and took our way to the store. The first thing Harry noticed, was a shiny and pink sofa. I sighed and told him what I had said earlier. The boy laughed and walked towards the back of the shop.

I was looking around trying to find something decent. A black sofa with some fur, absolutely not and neither a white leather sofa. It took a while to find something worth buying for. Harry had spotted a dark green sofa and an armchair in one corner at the back of the shop and showed them to me. I had to admit that he had found something that even I would accept in my house. Harry also insisted on buying a mirror. I told him to find just a regular one, no carvings or weird shapes. We decided that it was too difficult to get them home from here so once again we had to get them delivered to our door.

I suggested him that we should go to Leaky Cauldron and order something to eat before heading back home. We sat around a small table and waited for our dinner to arrive. We had spent the whole day in London and were ready to go back home after this. Harry had ordered a pea soup and I decided to have a salad with chicken. I asked Harry whether he would like to write the letter back to Hogwarts here. He looked really happy and agreed.

"_Dear, professor McGonagall._

_We are pleased to accept the posts of teachers in Hogwarts. We will arrive to Hogwarts a week beforehand to settle in. We will share the same room, I used to have when teaching there. _

_Yours sincerely,_

_Severus Snape and Harry Potter"_

"So, now it's done." I said sending my new owl, Sammy, away with the letter. "Now we only have to wait until August to go back there. I was really hoping I could return there. And now my dream is coming true." I told Harry, watching the owl flying in the sky and getting smaller and smaller until it had disappeared. Harry was sitting on the bench fondling his owl, Lily. The boy had insisted on naming her after his mother.

We took our stuff and apparated back home. Harry started to talk about where to put all the new furniture. I was sitting in my old armchair and calming Harry down, reminding him that it would take a week to get them here. Lily was hooting silently in her cage. I checked the sky every now and then, waiting for my owl to return. I had fallen asleep when staring at the sky and woke up when Harry gave me a kiss, telling me to climb on bed. I crawled on the bed and fell asleep again.

**The visitors**

The following week we finally recieved our new furniture. It was quite funny to have muggles inside your house. They must have surely wondered why I had only oil lamps and candles and no light bulbs. I didn't dare to explain. They would have never believed. Harry was running around the two men explaining about the positions of the furniture.

I sat around my kitchen table and watched the boy running around. The men bringing in the furniture seemed to be relieved when they had placed them where Harry told them to.

"You gave those guys a hard time." I told the boy, after they had left. "They must have thought you have a rabies or something like that. I was a bit disappointed at first that you didn't ask my opinion but it's ok like that."

"I'm used to people seeing me as an idiot. Don't forget all students when I was thought being the heir of Slytherin or taking part in Triwizard tournament and returning from the maze with dead Cedric Diggory. Talking about the students, I thought about sending the Weasleys, Hermione and maybe Draco an invitation to visit us."

"Draco, too? Are you kidding me? I thought you hated him."

"Yes, also Draco. But after he nearly saved my skin I realised he wasn't that bad guy at all. I also saved his life when Goyle set the Room of Requirement on fire just before Voldemort attacked you. He said in Hogwarts that he'd be delighted to be in contact with us. He must have been appreciating you for all these years. You are kind of a his hero, you know." Harry sneered.

"Okey, we can invite him too, if you're completely sure you want to see him. Are you going to invite all the Weasleys? There are quite a few of them. I still remember teaching all their kids."

"Yes, all of them. Not sure how many are able to join us, but we'll see then. I'm not sure about Charlie, as he's living in Romania. Maybe Bill and Fleur will do." I buried my face in my hands and thought about a whole family of gingers standing behind our door. I was ready to decline the whole invitation thing. But I decided to shut up and let Harry decide.

After an hour, Harry had sent our owls on their way to send the letters. My owl had returned with a letter from McGonagall, telling us being more than welcome back to Hogwarts. Now we were discussing about what to serve to the visitors.

Harry was complaining about the emptiness of my fridge. I told him that the visit would be in a couple of weeks so we would perfectly have some time to think about that stuff.

The two weeks passed in no time and it was the morning for our visitors to arrive. We had told them to arrive in the afternoon. Harry had made me to dress up properly. I was too used to hang around the house having only a little amount of clothing on me. We had recieved our clothes from Malkin and I suggested I could wear my new cloak but Harry told me to save it until we go back to Hogwarts.

Harry was excited and couldn't stand still. He had insisted on preparing the dinner and was ready with it just before the visitors arrived. First one to arrive, was Hermione Granger with Ron Weasley. She hugged Harry tightly and Ron just shook hands with both of us. They disappeared into the living room, discussing about the interior. Harry glanced at them, holding hands. He looked like he was happy that those two had finally found each other, just like us.

I asked Harry where he had put the Quidditch book, he had found one day. He had put it back on the bookshelf. I hurried to the living room grabbing it from the shelf and ran upstairs to hide it in our wardrobe. Harry looked red when I came back. He realised what mistake might have happened. Harry also told that he had drawn something more there. I was ready to hit my head against the wall when there was a knock on the door and Bill was standing there with Fleur. They told that the rest of the Weasleys are on their way. I sat on the armchair in the living room, waiting for our visitors to check out the house. The rest of the Weasley family arrived quite soon. Harry seemed to be sad when only George arrived from the twins. Fred had died when attacked by a Death Eater during the battle in Hogwarts.

I told Harry that we couldn't have been able to reduce the amount of deads during that battle. He had tears in his eyes and told that he should have surrended earlier. Even Lupin and Tonks might be alive, if he did. I Hugged him and Harry stopped crying. I asked him whether Draco would arrive. Harry said he's completely sure. Just in time before the young Malfoy was knocking on the door. He seemed to be extremely happy to be here. I hugged the boy and he laughed at the surprising effect.

Harry was already inviting the rest of the people around the house to our living room. It was the only place large enough to fit all of us. He offered a toast. I was wondering where he had found a bottle of champagne. I hadn't had one. But I didn't have time to care about that one right now. I looked at Harry suspiciously about the alcohol but he nodded and gave me a smile.

"Welcome to our home, all of you. It's a pleasure to see you all here with so short notice. We are also pleased to announce that both of us are returning to Hogwarts to teach there. Severus will return to teach potions and I will replace madam Hooch as a flying teacher." People were cheering and clapping at us. Harry offered a toast to all of us.

After the toast, people separated around the house checking out what they hadn't seen yet. Mrs Weasley came to me and started her usual questioning moment. A couple of other Weasleys gathered around me, too to hear more.

"So, Severus. You have finally found your love. Never would have guessed that you two would become one. But you really are a cute couple, I have to admit. How did you actually start to date each other?" I explained her all about Harry saving my life and how I ended up telling him about my feelings in the pensieve. And I also mentioned about the conversations with Dumbledore.

"Wow, that's great. He must be really happy with you. How long had you known that you loved him?"

"About ever since I first met him in Hogwarts. There was something curious about him. Of course I had to try to deny my feelings for him until he was of age."

"I think you shouldn't hide your feelings at all. But Harry indeed might have been a bit scared if you had told him 6 years ago that you like him." Molly grinned. "About your engagement, congratulations once more. Have you thought about getting married?"

"Not yet." I told him when Harry arrived by my side clutching my hand and telling Molly that it might happen soon. I was surprised as this was news even to me. "Yes, honey. It will happen soon, anyway." He smiled and gave a kiss on my cheek. Ginny and Hermione sighed and looked at us happily. They must be fans of all those gay stories, I thought.

"We are all so proud of you. Especially how you dared to show your love in front of the whole school. We are really looking forward to your wedding." Said Molly and went to see the rest of the house.

Ron and Hermione stayed and asked us whether they should get married too soon. I told them not to hurry so much. After all, it's a long term decision. Harry laughed at my comment and told them to do what their heart desires. That's what he did when proposing me. And I did excatly the same. I loved him so much, I didn't think of anything but to accept his proposal.

After Hermione had left with Ginny to have the dinner with the rest of the gang, Ron whispered us that he was about to propose Hermione right after we had done it. But he had been too afraid that she would have said no. Harry told him to give it a try. It would do no harm and Hermione would surely say yes. But he suggested that Ron would wait a bit longer. Just in case.

After the discussion, we joined all the people in the living room, having a dinner. Harry had made some potatoes and chicken breast. He hadn't had any time to make any dessert, but people seemed to be happy with the main course only.

"Your house looks really nice. It's dark but I love it. Where did you get these sofas?" asked Fleur.

"We found them in one shop in London. Harry had decided that we need some new furniture. He said that the house looks too black. But I told him that we shall continue with dark furniture. So here you are. I actually quite like these." I patted the armrest of the couch.

"Have you considered using normal electric lights instead of these candles and stuff?" Continued George. "It must be quite dark when the autumn arrives."

"No, I'm used to this darkness and besides, we will be spending next autumn in Hogwarts. There will be enough light, there. And I like the glow of the candles." I told them. Harry had to admit liking it although he said that he really wanted something white to bright this darkness.

"You have quite a lot of muggle things here. How come? I am quite happy to see some other wizard who's into muggle stuff." Arthur was gettin enthusiastic.

"Yes, I'm so used to them. Quite a few of them were here all those years ago when I moved in. I moved in 15 years ago so they're not that modern. That old radio there... It's only a decoration to me. I'm not using them so much." Harry stood up and went to see it. He turned it on and to my surprise, it was working.

"Sometimes these muggle things surprise me. Harry, what really is the use of a rubber duck?" Arthur asked and I couldn't help but laugh and so did Hermione. She was the only muggle-born here. I gave Harry a glance that told him to finally tell that man.

"Hm. So you don't know. When you go to a bath, some people, normally kids, like to take some toys with them. A rubber duck is quite common. So it's basically for having fun in the bath. I hope that cleared you up."

"Thank you, Harry. I was thinking that it would be more significant item. Muggles are interesting. All those items with no proper use." His sons were giggling and Harry was laughing out loud. He told Arthur that he can answer more questions about muggle items, if he wants. Arthur thanked him.

People were sitting in silence and suddenly Harry remembered something. He went upstairs and arrived with a photo album and a camera. He told that he had added some photos on the album of mainly me, oh shit. He told that Colin Creevey had taken photos with his camera and he had asked to have those. He had bought a camera to take more photos of us. I frowned at the thought of having photos of me around the house. Harry showed me a piture of both of us at the Slughorn's party. He told that the photographer there had taken some.

I took a look at the photo. It showed me in my usual frown telling Harry about Dumbledore's message. Harry showed me a frame and asked if we could put it in the wall. I raised my eyebrow in suspicion but agreed. The boy looked so innocent with his green eyes looking at me, trying to persuade me to do it.

"You can never resist that boy, Severus." Bill laughed.

After the dinner Ron said that he has to leave as he had some job interview. Hermione left with him. I watched them to walk away from the house and disapparating. I was hoping to see that pair getting married some day. They were complete opposites but that's what made them a nice pair. They indeed are a bit like us.

"Hello, professor. It was nice to hear that you will return to Hogwarts. I have considered returning there too, to finish my last year. First I felt like not returning but I realised that I should learn more. I can't wait to be taught by you once again. I should inform professor McGonagall. Could I borrow your owl so I could inform her?"

"Go ahead. You can find him upstairs in his cage. Harry's owl is on her way to deliver some mail so you won't take the wrong one." I grinned at the boy. I went upstairs with him and gave Draco some paper and a quill. "McGonagall must be quite proud that you will return there."

"I suppose so. I was thinking whether I will still be in Slytherin. I feel a bit more like a Gryffindor at the moment." He wondered.

"I suppose they won't make a new sorting for you. It's your last year. And remember that being a Slyhterin doesn't make you a bad person or a bad wizard. It's too bad Harry won't be teaching you at all this year as you have already finished your flying lessons.

"Yes, I miss those lessons. Although I was quite a gifted a flying when I started at Hogwarts. I thought I was too skilled and was thinking to tell madam Hooch that I wouldn't take part in the lessons. Then I saw Harry flying and thought that I must be better than him." Draco sneered.

"Typical you, Draco. Always wanting to be better than rest of the class." Harry arrived laughing and asked what he was writing. Draco told about planning to return to Hogwarts.

"Well, we'll see you there then. Bill and Fleur are leaving. Come and say them bye, darling." He kissed me and I got up. Draco was watching me going downstairs and Harry followed.

"It was really nice to visit you. We hope to see you again soon. Actually, we have one announcement before we leave. Everyone gathered in the living room and Draco arrived after finishing his letter to McGonagall.

"Fleur is pregnant and the baby is due in March. We will have some party before the baby is born." Everyone clapped and congratulated them. Weasley parents were extremely delighted. It would be their first grandchild. They told that Charlie, their eldest child was too addicted to dragons so he would have any time for girls.

They left quite soon and Harry reminded them to tell Ron and Hermione about the baby. They also disapparated. Only the rest of they Weasleys had arrived by a vehicle. Arthur had found themselves a car to replace the Ford Anglia, Ron and Harry had crashed into the Whoomping Willow their second year in Hogwarts.

"A wedding, I heard." I said to Harry when the last person had closed the door behind them. "Should we start planning now or later?" I asked him and Harry screamed in surprise. Maybe he had thought that I wouldn't have agreed on so early wedding.

"Maybe we should go and teach first and then think about getting married. I though that maybe we should do it in Hogwarts castle. But let's think about it later then." Harry gave me a kiss using his tongue. I got excited and responded with even deeper kiss. This summer was getting better and better.

**Happy birthday, Harry**

Harry's birthday was approaching. It was 21st of July when I finally managed to think more about it. Harry had been suggesting about getting some candies for his birthday. I asked him whether he wanted to invite some friends but he told not to. He wanted to spend it with me only.

I thought about going to Diagon Alley once more to find something. A couple of days later I left our house before Harry had woken up. I left him a note on the table about where I had gone. I had decided to take my broom to get there so I had to wake up quite early.

The day was sunny and I thought it was a brilliant day for a longer flight. It would take a few hours to get there. It was around 11 when I arrived at the Leaky Cauldron. Before going to Diagon Alley, I had a butterbeer at the bar. I noticed a familiar face in the bar and called him to join me.

"Lucius. How are you doing?"

"Hello, Severus. I'm doing fine, actually. I heard Draco visited you acouple of weeks ago. He said that he was so happy to see you two together and being so in love. And he also told that you have been planning a wedding."

"Yes, it was nice to see so many people in our house. Also the Weasleys and Hermione Granger visited us. I thought Draco might get anxious with those people around but he was quite ok with it. And about the wedding... It was Harry's idea to have it soon. That was the first time I heard about it." I laughed and Lucius looked amazed.

"But do you think that you should have the wedding so soon?"

"I agree with Harry. We have planned to have it during next term in Hogwarts. We are going to have the wedding ceremony in the castle. Don't worry, you will be invited. I heard that Draco is about to finish his seventh year in Hogwarts."

"And I heard you will be teaching them. It's awesome that you still have motivation to teach there. I thought you had got bored of it quite well." Lucius said.

"Yes, I had thought about returning there ever since I left Hogwarts after flying away from there as McGonagall tried to attack me, protecting Harry. Now also Harry had been asked to teach there. He will replace Madam Hooch as a flying teacher."

"How are you going to cope with a bunch of students who know you and Harry being together? I quess they have their prejudicies." Asked Lucius.

"I think it's fair for the students to know about our relationship. If I try to cover it, it would be difficult. We wouldn't be able to do anything together without rumours flying around the school."

"I think you're doing right. Those kids must know that love doesn't ask your age or sex. What are you doing here, actually right now?"

"I am trying to find Harry a birthday present. It's going to be his birthday in a week. I thought that I should buy it now and not wait for days and then forgetting about it. I thought Diagon Alley was the best place to find one. Not sure about what to buy, yet. But, we'll see. Maybe something for flying or something like that. He found my Quidditch book. You remember that one I used to read all the time in Hogwarts?"

"Yes, I still remember it. Didn't you use to draw and write tons of stuff there. One night I remember that you even slept with it under your arm." Lucius laughed. I went red completely.

"I was quite attached to it. If you really want to know... I was attracted to James Potter. And he was the one who made me to like Quidditch. I really enjoyed those times seeing him flying around on his broom. I thought he was the only reason I would have played Quiddtch, ever. But I wasn't so much into flying by then. I though the hard wood between my legs was quite uncomfortable."

"You would have been a great seeker for us. You were small and also good at flying, I remember. Even though you didn't like it. So you will be teaching potions?" I nodded. "Did Slughorn retire then?"

"He only returned to replace me when I was teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts and being a headmaster. Now he will finally retire. He had wanted it for a while and now I gave him a chance. Ah, I should get going now. I came here with a broom so I need to go back today." I said to Lucius and waved at him at the backdoor, leading to Diagon Alley.

"See you, Severus. Maybe at your wedding then." He smiled and I disappeared to the backyard. Arriving to the Diagon Alley, I realised that I hadn't that much cash left so I headed to Gringotts. I was quite proud when asking for an entrance to our common vault. It felt funny that we had common money.

After exiting Gringotts, I decided to visit Sugarplum's Sweets Shop first. After all Harry had asked some condies for his birthday present. I entered the shop and noticed that a huge bunch of students were there. They must have been around Diagon Alley to buy some new stuff for school. I had the profit being taller than those kids, so it was easier to find what I wanted.

I went to see some new items on sale. I noticed Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans with new flavours. So there was still flavours they hadn't tested. I took a couple of boxes of them. I also noticed some candy wands with different flavours. I got an apple, chocolate and liquorice flavoured ones. A couple of more. I got a dozen Chocolate frogs and lollipops with every flavour I could find and found some heart ones. They looked too cute to left sitting on the shelf. I thought maybe I could give one to him today already. On one of them it said 'To my one and only'. Yeah, I needed that one.

After paying for the candies I went to Flourish and Blott's bookstore. I thought maybe they would have some Quidditch books lying around. I went through the shelves and finally found a small section for books about flying. There was lying an old and worn out book and I grabbed it in my hand. It was about the history of the sport. I had heard about a newer version of it but this one went far beyond. It told about the earliest versions of Quidditch and how it had developed. I also spotted a book about the supplies and stories about them.

I decided to visit also the shop especially equipped with objects for flying. We had already visited it when Harry had bought his new broom but I decided to give it a try. I stepped inside seeing another bunch of students inside. Usually those kids were so excited about those that they couldn't keep their hands off all the stuff in here.

I went through the items. I thought that Harry wouldn't need any new Quidditch clothes as teachers weren't allowed to play in the house teams. I saw some decorations for brooms. I couldn't help but laugh when looking at them. All kinds of glittering stuff, small stuffed animals and toys. I thought maybe I could buy one for fun. I picked up a small, pink bunny that was actually quite cute.

I had to rummage for more stuff. I found a box with items with a discount. There, at the bottom of the box, was a miniature version of a Nimbus 2000 broom. I thought it would be nice for Harry as that was his first broom and he had lost it when Whoomping Willow had destroyed it. The clerk looked like he was going to laugh when he saw the bunny. But I looked so serious, he didn't laugh that hard.

Ok, that's all, I think. On my way back to Leaky Cauldron, I spotted something interesting in a store window of Scribbulus Writing Instruments . It was a quill with an ability to write anything the writer thinks. It must cost a lot, I thought. I went inside the shop and asked about the price. It was quite expensive but thought that it's a birthday present after all and decided to buy one. The clerk told me that it comes in various colours but I said that black is fine. I wouldn't have wanted a pink one, after that bunny.

I went back to Leaky Cauldron. It was around 4 pm and I decided to have some dinner. I was too used to eat in the Leaky Cauldron so I thought of going to some restaurant in London. I went out and walked for a while, finding and old-fashioned restaurant that looked comfortable enough.

I sat in a corner table and ordered some mashed potatoes with pork chops. It was quite a silent place. Not much noises from outside and only a couple of people were sitting there. It was after the dinner time so I didn't wonder why it was so quiet.

"Oh my. Hello, professor Snape." I heard a voice and turned around to see a familiar face of Penelope Clearwater. "Do you still remember me? I was in Gryffindor and am at the moment married to Percy Weasley. I heard they had been visiting you."

"Yes, they visited us. So you have heard about me and Potter being engaged?"

"Yes, I have heard. Congratulations. It's so good to see you two happy together. Harry really needed someone. I have to go now and continue working. I hope you had a good meal."

"I had. Thank you, mrs Clearwater. I guess we will be iniviting all the Weasleys to our wedding then so you are welcome too."

"That's nice to hear. We will see you then, I suppose. Goodbye, professor." She said and took her way back to the kitchens. I took my broom and stepped outside. I now had a couple of bags full of birthday presents for Harry. I had no idea where to hide them when I get back home.

I went back home in the evening and a boy with bushy hair flung to my neck when I opened the door. He kissed me frantically and pushed me against the wall. I chuckled and Harry hugged me welcoming me back home. My bags had dropped on the floor. Harry sneeked past me, checking out the bags.

"Not yet, sweetie. You have to wait until your birthday." Harry showed a sad face but I knew he was more than delighted by them. I went upstairs and Harry continued to make some evening snack. It was already 9 pm and I was tired. Upstairs I was wondering where to put the gifts until I remembered my Death Eater -closet and put them there. Harry had no intention to check the closet out. He was a bit afraid of the costume.

I went back downstairs clutching one of the heart shaped lollipops. I held it out to Harry and he looked positively surprised. I told him to eat the snack first until eating the candy. He ate the food quickly and opened the lollipop and started licking it. I got some pervy thoughts about the boy licking the lollipop frantically. But I was too tired of thinking about sex at the moment. I went straight to bed and fell asleep immediately.

I woke up on Harry's birthday early. I had baked some cake the past evening after Harry had fallen asleep. I went to the kitchen and took the cake to decorate it. I used my wand to write some words on it with. Finally after trying it a couple of times, I managed to write "Happy birthday, Harry!". But the H looked more like M and I decided to give up and leave it like that.

I had bought some chanpagne a couple of days ago. I noticed a bottle of something on one shelf in the kitchen. I thought it might be wine or something and opened it pouring it to a wine glass. It indeed looked like wine. I sipped the glass empty and was wondering what on earth it was. It tasted nothing like wine. I thought that maybe it had already been old and threw the rest of it away.

I put some sandwich and a glass of champagne on the tray and sneaked upstairs. Harry was still sleeping and I sat on the bed next to him and woke him up by kissing him gently on his mouth. He woke up immediately and returned the kiss.

"Happy birthday, my love." I managed to mumble between kisses. Harry pulled me lying on the bed and looked me into my eye with a loving gaze. I smiled at him and caressed his hair. "Thanks, Sev" The boy said. He fondled my long hair and turned it around his fingers. I hadn't had any time to wash my hair today so I warned him about the greasyness. He laughed and told me not to speak nonsence.

I showed Harry the tray with breakfast. Harry took it on his lap and took a sip of the champagne. "This is far better than the one I bought when those people were visiting us. It's you who chooses the wines and champagnes from now on." He grinned and took a bite of the toast. He ate mostly in silence and asked if I had invited any quests although he didn't give a permission. I told him that I hadn't but suggested that we could visit the Weasleys for example if he wanted. Harry agreed but said that it would only be a short visit.

Back downstairs I brought the cake on the table and Harry looked at the scribbling with a smile. He told me that I had done marvellous work. I told him not to flatter me. I told that even by using magic it didn't appear better than that. Harry laughed but took a slice of it.

We talked about when to leave to Weasleys. Harry suggested that we should go there in the afternoon. I told him to wait for a bit. I had decided to give him some of his gifts already. I went upstairs and thought that I should bring him everything except the candies. He would recieve them in the evening after we come back from the Weasleys.

I came back with a bag containing the books, the bunny and the miniature broom. Harry started laughing when seeing the bunny. I told him what it was for and he laughed even more. I couldn't help but laugh too.

"Thank you for these. The bunny really is hilarious. I still miss my Nimbus 2000. After recieving Firebolt, I would have never quessed I would miss the Nimbus but this reminds me the beauty of it. You really seemed to concentrate on Quidditch. These books are awesome. More light evening reading for me then. Your old Quidditch book wasn't that light reading." I went red at the comment and told him that he will get the rest of the presents in the evening.

In the afternoon we took a short walk to a nearby hill to have some snack there before leaving to Weasleys. I had brought some apples, pie, grapes and juice with me. Harry liked the idea and ate happily the pie I had brought with us.

"I really like your cooking. If you weren't a potions master, you would be a fair cook, you know." Said Harry.

"Quess what. I was at this restaurant in London the day I bought your presents and Penelope Clearwater was working there. You still remember her?"

"Yes, Percy's wife nowadays, I suppose." I nodded. "Not so fond of her. She is a bit like Percy was at the time. Gave his family a really hard time. She's quite bossy. But I suppose it's good for Percy to have a wife like that." Harry continued.

"Don't say that when we get to the Weasleys then." I told him when we mounted our brooms to leave.

We arrived at the Burrow later that afternoon. I saw their new muggle car in the front yard. Arthur was fixing it and waved at us when we arrived. He told me that we could have a car too instead of brooms. I said no, thanks and told that I wouldn't like to go to driving school. Riding a broom didn't take any lisence. Arthur had to agree on being not so fond of those lessons. He said that Ron might go to driving school soon.

Harry was already walking inside. I followed him and he was already hugging the whole family when I entered the house, Arthur following me. The whole family was there. Even Charlie had arrived from Romania and was having a couple of weeks off from his work. He came to shake our hands. This was the first time Harry met him. I had been teaching him all those years he had gone to Hogwarts.

"So you are Harry Potter. It's a pleasure to meet you. You are a legend after all. And professor Snape. It's good to see you. I must have been the only Gryffindor who really was into potions. I liked your lessons a lot when I still was a student."

"That's funny. I recall everyone being bored of them." I sneered at him and he told that he was serious about what he had said. I told him that I'm honoured. Usually it's the Slytherins who like my lessons. To some of them, I was like an idol.

"I heard you will continue teaching potions. I only wish I had a chance to see you teaching once again."

"Charlie, come here to help me with the dinner and stop harrassing professor." Shouted Molly from the kitchen. Charlie nodded at me and disappeared into the kitchen. George was walking to us and asked if he could show the house to us. Harry after all had seen it quite a few times already but wanted to see the house better.

First George showed the kitchen. A delicious smell of a dinner reached our noses. Molly was cooking something on the stove, not using magic at all. It was good thing to not use magic in everything. Some bottles of self-made beer were on the floor waiting to be drunk.

In the middle of the kitchen was a large wooden table, large enough for the whole family and some friends to sit around. Harry pointed out a clock with hands for each family member that showed where every family member was. Harry told me that Fred's was gone. Hearing that, Molly stopped humming and everything went quiet. I told Harry not to speak like that. It's still very difficult for them to handle the idea that Fred is gone.

George went quietly before us towards the living room. I noticed that Arthur had found a radio and a television. George told that their father had found them few days ago, thrown into a bin. He still hadn't found out how to use them. Harry said that he could tell Arthur while George shows me the house. He called Arthur and started to tell him what to do with them.

I looked around the living room. A brown sofa was lying in the middle and few armchairs surrounded the room. I looked out of the window and watched some birds fly nearby. The view looked nice. I hope I had lived somewhere like this and not in Spinner's End.

George called me and I woke up from my dreams. Harry was explaining the function of the television and asked if they had an antenna. Arthur looked at him eyes wide open. I laughed and told Harry that he still has a lot to explain.

I went upstairs after George and he showed me Ron't room first. Now it had a double bed in it, surely for Hermione visiting the house quite frequently. Ron had covered his wall with posters of his favourite Quidditch team, The Chudley Cannons. I watched people flying in and out of the posters. There was a small plant growing in the corner of the room and apart from one armchair and a wooden table with a chair and a wardrobe, the room was quite empty. George told me that Molly had told Ron to clean up his room before we arrive. Normally the room would have looked awful.

The next room was Ginny's. It was a girly one with something pink and fuzzy. Her puffskein was sitting in it's cage humming silently. Ginny had left it some chicken to eat and the animal looked content. Now I wished I had bought Harry one. I went to cuddle the creature a bit and felt like cuddling a baby.

George told me that he won't show me their parents' bedroom as they told him not to do it. I said it was ok. The last thing he showed me was his bedroom. I still saw an extra bed that used to belong to Fred. They also had had some Quidditch posters and of some wizard band, too. In one corner he had some joke shop items. I was thinking about visiting their shop when I get to Hogsmeade. George was standing in the doorway and I told him that we can return downstairs. When we left the room, I gazed all the way down the house and realised that we had climbed quite a few floors up. The house was really tall.

Molly was already calling us for dinner. Harry was already sitting at the table trying to explain the function of the television and how to buy an antenna. He promised to help with it if they bought it before the school starts. Molly was complaining about Arthur's interest in muggle things. She told that last time he had bought a telephone. I nearly laughed when Harry told us when Ron had called him with the phone.

Harry took a huge bunch of food on his plate and it seemed like he hadn't eaten anything before leaving. I told him to spare something for the others too.

"Let the boy eat. It's his birthday after all. But you should spare some space in your stomach for the cake." Another cake. That's nice. I had had enough of cake so far after eating some in the morning. But I had to take a slice when Molly brought the cake on the table. She told Harry to grab his piece first.

She had decorated the cake with pieces of marzipan, shaped to look like snitches and wands. I hoped I had the same skill to make anything out of anything. Harry took the topmost snitch and turned it in his hands like trying to open it to find the resurrection stone. I told him to just eat it. Nothing like it wouldn't appear out of it. Instead of eating it, Harry tugged in into my mouth with a force and made the others laugh.

"Don't make him angry." Laughed Bill. Harry grabbed another snitch from the cake and ate it. Molly had baked some biscuits too and told that we could take some home as she had made quite a bunch of them. After eating the first one, I was completely sure we would take as much as they want us to take. They were delicious.

After the finner we sat in the living room and Harry continued explaining about different muggle items. Charlie asked if I could answer some of his questions. I said ok and he got enthusiastic.

"That's great. There are too many questions to ask, I suppose." I told him that he should return to Hogwarts too if he wanted an answer to all his questions. "Maybe I should. But I'm too busy with the dragons at the moment. Does there happen to be some kind of a potion to cure some scard that dragons have made by burning the skin?"

"There are tons of potions to fix different burns and scars. If you have a quill and a paper, I can write down some books where you can find the information. The potions aren't that difficult to make. After all you had been interested in potions so it wouldn't be difficult to make them.

"Is there any book with some newer potions. I have flicked through quite a few books so far?" I told him about the books I had found before the battle that made me survive. Charlie was interested in hearing what actually had happened that night. I told the story once again and answered his questions about it.

Harry was sitting in front of the fireplace, gazing me with his green puppy eyes behind his round glasses. He was yawning and I asked if he wanted to go home already. He nodded and we thanked the Weasleys for the dinner and started to dress up into our travelling cloaks. Molly brought us the biscuits and we picked up our brooms from the closet in the lobby.

The air was getting cooler as the afternoon went by. The travelling cloak was still enough to keep us warm on our way. Harry flew next to me looking like he had something nasty in his mind. I was thinking what would happen when we get home.

When we arrived home, Harry hurried to the kitchen, clutching one of his wand lollipops I had given him before leaving to the Weasleys. I sat on the sofa and took one of my potions books from the shelf. Harry sat on the armchair opposite to the sofa.

I read some pages of the book and lifted my head to gaze the boy sitting in the chair with his legs over the armrest. He was licking the lollipop gently and suddenly he saw my gaze and started to lick it around and sometimes gave it a small bite, not biting its head off. Harry started to suck it harder and imitated the way of taking a blowjob.

He slided the half of the lollipop's lenght into his mouth and sucked it for a while and then took it off from his mouth. The candy was dripping of Harry's drool and some of the candy's juice was dripping from his mouth. I only stared at him with my eyes wide open.

"You liked the sight, didn't you? At least something in your trousers did." Harry lowered his gaze to my crotch and now I noticed I was rock hard. I tried to cover my hard on but Harry had already seen it. Harry got up, took my hands, and pulled me up. He dragged me to the bedroom and pushed me on to our bed.

"Just wait there. I'll go and get something." Harry said and went to the wardrobe and pulled out a bag. I sat up and watched him going through the stuff. Next he was holding two pairs of handcuffs. I looked at him and Harry rushed to me asking if he had told me to sit up and he pushed me back on the bed. So he really remembered my fantasy.

"You said you wanted something like this, right? So now it's time to thank you for my presents." I panted hard when Harry started to lock my handcuffs. He didn't put them tight but so tight anyway that I couldn't slip my hands through them. I was prepared that he would tie my mouth once again but he didn't. At least now we didn't have people around us who would be wondering where all those moans came from.

"Just relax and enjoy, professor." He panted into my ear. I was already so hard I could have ejaculated when hearing those words being whispered to my ear. I arched my back when Harry ran his finger over my crotch.

He started to take off his hoodie, opening his zip and made me gulp when I realised he didn't have any shirt underneath it. He pulled it over his shoulders and let it drop on the floor. He climbed above me and sat on my hips, making my dick being pressed against my belly. I moaned and pleaded that Harry would do something as soon as possible.

He clutched the bag and took out something he didn't show me first. He started to unbutton my shirt with so slow speed I was ready to unbutton it myself until realising I was tied up to my own bed. Harry tickled my belly when he had opened the shirt. I was ticklish and I had a serious laugh when he did so. Harry laughed at the sight and told me that it was always nice to see me laugh.

He started to open the zip of my trousers and pulled both, them and my underpants with one pull and admired the sight for a while. "I've got to say that you always surprise me with the lenght of your fabulous cock, you know." He said and kneeled over me kissing me. He flicked his tongue in my mouth and held my chin in place so he could use more force while kissing me. I felt his hot breath on my face and pushed my tongue inside his mouth. I only wish I hadn't had my hands tied. Harry glided himself over me so our dicks could touch each other. I moaned and soon felt one of his fingers playing around my anus.

"My hand might just want to... slyther in, sweetie. No wonder you're into boys. Even your house mascot refers to male organs." Harry laughed and took something from behind him. I looked at it in amazement. Harry was holding an anal plug that wasn't so small, at all. So that's what he had been looking for in that "interesting store". I started to worry that this enormous thing never would fit inside me. But I knew Harry wouldn't give up trying to slide it inside me.

He had also bought some lubricant and I got a bit more relieved. He first licked and sucked the plug just like he had done to that lollipop, he had left on the bedside table. Oh jeez, that boy couldn't get any more hotter than that. Except when he is pushing his dick inside my anus and cumming with a deep moan. I thought I would get the pleasure to see that sight once again this night.

Even with a huge amount of lubricant I wasn't sure how the boy would manage to fit it into my ass. Harry pushed it carefully to the entrance of my anus. It was already feeling painful when he had inserted it only under an inch. Harry took my dick and pumped it slightly and I managed to relax my muscles.

I could only concentrate on the heavenly feeling he gave me. In between my desperate moans he pushed the plug all the way in. My whole anal canal felt so full I was afraid that it would explode. But Harry's gentle touch made me relax and enjoy the show of watching the young boy pumping his own hard on.

I told Harry to let me suck him. Harry looked surprised at my suggestion but was more than pleased to make my wish come true. He leaned against the wall behind my bed and moved his hips so I could suck him in. The beautiful cock that belonged to my one and only was right in front of my face.

I lifted my head a bit and Harry lowered his hips so I could take it in. His dick was already so hard. It wasn't as long as mine so I could suck it all the way in. Relaxing my muscles in my throat I could finally reach the root of his dick. It was already dripping of precum and I swallowed some of it. I mumbled something about his dick tasting so good. I don't think if Harry could conprehend what I had said but at least he was panting harder.

I licked his dick with my tongue up and down, also fiddling it on the head of it. Harry was shaking and I tried not to choke. He lifted himself up and I looked into his red face and he was breathing heavily with his eyes closed. He managed to say that I was really good at that and he wanted me inside him, now.

Harry's dick was already very wet because of my saliva and his precum but he decided to add more lubricant. He moaned something about my dick being so big. I told him not to speak nonsence but he placed his hand on my mouth and told to be quiet and just accept what is happening. Ok, so I have an anal plug in my anus and a young man thrusting my dick slowly in his anus. Not bad.

Harry looked to be in pain when trying to fit my dick inside him. Finally he was making it inch by inch. When he reached the bottom, he looked so relieved and like he would faint either for the pain or for the pleasure.

I tugged my toes into my sheets when feeling the hot pressure around my dick. I was ready to cum but Harry teased me by stopping his movements.

"Not that fast." He panted and moved his hips a bit and I groaned loudly. I smashed my head against my pillow and arched my back to meet Harry's slow thrusts. Harry sat on my hips, preventing me to control it. He licked his lips and I moaned when he leaned on to lick my nipples.

Harry moved himself up and down, sometimes teasing me by moving hips around over me. I cried out loud when he thrusted once more fast and hard and I felt my seed flowing inside Harry. Harry pumped his dick a couple of times and he ejaculated over his and my belly. Harry bent over me, leaning his head over my chest and panting hard.

"We're not finished yet, darling." He breathed into my ear and sat up and lifted himself up so my dick plopped out of his butt. My seeds were pouring out of his anus and my hard on was starting to grow again when watching the boy tickling my butt.

Harry grabbed the anal plug and pushed it a couple of times fast and forward. I screamed when he pulled it completely outside. It had made me cum more than ever. Feeling something like that inside me, made me melt totally. I was pleading for Harry to fuck me senseless right now. Harry raised his eyebrows and leaned to kiss me gently all over my face.

"You... really... want... it..., do you?" Harry asked placing kisses on me after every word. I nodded, looking as innocent as I could. "You don't fool me, professor. You're not as innocent as you try to be."

Harry rummaged his bag once again and my eyes flew open when Harry pulled a cock ring out of it. He asked whether I would like to try one. I approved and Harry started to pull it over my cock and balls. It felt painful at first but at the end it felt nice when it made the blood rush to the end of my dick. The erection was so big Harry had the tempt to give it a good suck first.

After he had licked my dick completely wet and I was about to explode with the passion, Harry had mercy on me. He kneeled between my spread legs and first cupped my balls and played with them for a while, wighing them and squeezing them hard. Every once in a while he bit them gently. I was groaning and moaning deeply.

He also pumped my foreskin a couple of times before sticking his dick in the entrance of my anus. I was a bit worried as we hadn't used condoms but decided that it was ok as we had been together for a while now. Harry saw my worried face and told not to worry and only enjoy.

Inch by inch he hid his member inside me. I grimaced when he pulled it all the way through. Harry was whispering into my ear that I was so tight and it was always a pleasure to slyther inside me. I laughed at his comment and as a response to my laugh, he pushed one very hard thrust and I cried at the feeling.

Pushing hard inside he made me feel dizzy and by every thrust I felt like floating somewhere in the sky. I panted like hell and Harry groaned when feeling my hot insides. He pumped my dick with fast thrusts and I looked Harry in the eye, watching him closing his eyes and panting with his mouth open. I looked at those beautiful lips parting.

Harry looked like he was about to cum and seeing the sight made me cum, too. Harry let his seeds rush all over inside me. I felt the hot cum all the way inside my anus and all went black when the force of the ejaculation made me senseless.

I woke up soon, seeing Harry lying on me and panting hard.

"Wow, you really went senseless then for some seconds. It must have felt good, I suppose." I nodded and Harry kissed me. He stroked my hair that was all tangled and unlocked the handcuffs. I stroked Harry's back when I finally had my hands freed. The sheets were completely in cum and Harry told that we should change them.

I stood up and felt dizzy and not sure whether I could walk for a while. I managed to make my way to the wardrobe and found new sheets. Harry was already taking off the dirty ones and looked at me wobbling. He took the clean sheets and replaced the old ones. I fell on the bed and closed my eyes. Harry laid himself next to me and soon I heard him snoring softly and I fell asleep also soon.

**Back to Hogwarts**

The summer holidays was reaching it's end. It was a day before we would return to Hogwarts. The summer was turning to autumn and Harry was sitting in the backyard under the only tree, eating an apple he had grabbed from the tree. I had promised him to make an apple pie before we leave to Hogwarts.

I was mixing the ingredients for the pie and looked around in the kitchen. Tomorrow we would be on our way to Hogwarts and it would mean a couple of months with this house being empty. It felt always like this when the term was about to start. It was a bit sad for thinking that I wouldn't have so much time for myself during that time.

The pie was already ready when I was wondering where Harry had left. I went to the back yard and saw the boy snoring while leaning against the apple tree. I went inside to bring two slices of the pie with me and some juice. I woke Harry up and offered him his slice of it. He took the plate and kissed my cheek.

"So, it is the last evening here before leaving to Hogwarts. It's getting exciting, seeing all those people back there. It would be nice to teach Hermione, but she doesn't have any flying lessons left. I'm still quite unsure how I'll cope with teaching."

"Believe me, you'll do it great. My first lesson was a horror. I couldn't control the students and nearly forgot to mention some important safety issues. It was a nightmare but little by little I learned how to make it through. I still have that kind of an authority that keeps the students in control. I don't even have to raise my voice."

"I wish I had that ability", Harry said.

"You will get the respect from your students. You are a hero for many of them. They all know your story and think you as a god or something." I told him and bit a slice of my pie. Harry grimaced at me.

Harry cuddled under my arm and I brushed his hair gently. He was purring and snuggled better close to me. We both fell asleep, enoying the last rays of the sun that day. I woke up a couple of hours later and it was getting darker. I woke Harry up and suggested that it would be the time to go inside to sleep. Harry picked up the book he had been reading and his glass and plate and I brought the rest of the stuff.

Harry rushed on to our bed and buried his face in to the pillow.

"Oh, I just came up with this idea. You remember when I asked if I could try your Death Eater costume on? If I just could... Please." I agreed that he could try it on and took it out from the wardrobe. Harry gulped when looking at it but he said he was completely sure that he wants to try it.

Harry took off his jumper and jeans and I gave him the outfit. I watched Harry putting them on. They were a bit long for him but otherwise they fitted perfectly. I had been quite skinny when I had been wearing it the last time.

"I haven't worn that for ages. And I suppose I never will again. I like the look of it but not the purpose of it. I can only remember terrible things when I see it. Don't you ever even try to join the dark forces, Harry." He nodded and looked sad. He took off the costume and put it in the wardrobe and fell on his back on to the bed. I climbed after him thinking that this freedom was over the following day.

It was early morning when I was woken up by the sunlight through the window. Harry was still sleeping but I got already up to pack the rest of my stuff. I had gathered some herbs from the garden and put the bottles containing them, into my trunk. Suddenly I started to feel sick and rushed to the bathroom.

I vomitted into the toilet bowl and was wondering what is going on. I haven't been sick for a while now. I rummaged through the medicine closet and found a thermometer. I had no temperature and just thought that I had eaten something rotten maybe. I watched myself at the mirror and I looked pale.

I went back upstairs and Harry had already woken up.

"Why are you looking so pale, honey?" Harry asked.

"I just vomitted. I don't know why. I checked the temperature but I'm okey. Maybe I ate something bad yesterday. How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling well, thanks. Maybe it's just something to do with the dinner. But I hope you'll be ok. We have to return to Hogwarts today." I sat on the bed and was feeling a bit better now. I watched Harry packing his trunk. He told that he would take my Quidditch book with him.

"Just make sure none of the students finds it. I wouldn't want to see stupid rumours about me and your father flying around the school. And when there's some rumour in Hogwarts, it only takes about 10 minutes and the whole school knows. I still remember my first year as a teacher. There was some Gryffindor who started spreading a rumour around the school that I was engaged with some student. During the next lesson, some Slytherin asked when the wedding was due. I had no idea what he was talking about."

"That's nice to hear. At least we won't get those rumours as everyone already knows about us." Harry sighed. I was thinking that it wouldn't be that easy and told Harry that soon someone would be talking about one of us cheating on each other.

We took off around the corner. We had decided to apparate to Hogsmeade and take the path to Hogwarts. Harry was jumping up and down asking if we could go to Honeyduke's on our way. I promised that we could visit more shops if he wants. His eyes were glittering when hearing that.

I took a hold of Harry's hand and we apparated to Hogsmeade. Harry was already pointing at the Honeydukes and I walked slowly after the running boy. He was already rummaging some box of Bertie Bott when I stepped inside. The clerk was already congratulating us for our engagement and for becoming teachers. I told Harry that this is how fast the news spread.

Harry bought more of those candy wands I had bought him for his birthday. He had already eaten all of them. I told him not to play anything pervy this time. Harry grinned and went to buy some Chocolate frogs. He also found some new chocolate falours. I told him to wait until the first Hogsmeade visit until he gets more candies.

Harry stared at the hairdressing salon opposite to Honeyduke's. I told him not to even think about it. I had cut my hair myself and told him that I'll never let anyone else to cut it. Harry wanted to try out Gladrags Wizardwear. He bought himself a pair of socks that turned red when he had been wearing them for too long. I shook my head for the idea having to watch those sock everyday he comes to bed.

I told Harry that we'll leave to the castle now. We took the narrow path leading there.

"Welcome home, Harry." I said when we halted near the castle and stood there for a while, only watching the dark castle. Harry said that he was so happy that he didn't have to leave this place. I told him that I felt the same way. I had only a couple of years between being a student and being a teacher so I've never really had a longer pause being in the castle.

Harry hurried up to the castle and opened the front door to the castle. We heard voices from the Great Hall and walked inside. McGonagall was standing there, talking to professor Flitwick. We greeted them as we step inside and McGonagall looked delighted.

"Harry, Severus! I'm so happy to see you. We got your owl that you will arrive this early. We ordered the house-elves to organise your room that you both can fit there, Severus. You can already set in there. I think they have finished their work. Our new Defense against the dark arts teacher will arrive today also. You will see him when he arrives. You are already familiar with him." She told.

We started to descend to the dungeons and Harry was worried about getting cold as it was a bit chilly there already this time a year. I told him to stop complaining and get used to it. I opened the door to my dormitory and Harry rushed past me, starting to unpack his trunk. I told him to leave some space for my clothes, too.

After unpacking the most of my trunk, I informed Harry that they are expecting us to arrive for the lunch. We both were hungry already but I was thinking about vomitting in the morning so I thought I shouldn't eat so much.

Arriving at the Great Hall, we got a huge surprise when Aberforth Dumbledore was sitting at the staff table. McGonagall told us that he will be the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Harry went straight to him and shook his hand eagerly.

"So, I heard you two are returning here. It's good to see you teaching here. I also have heard your story. Congratulations for the engagement and good luck for both of you."

"Thank you, professor. How did you end up teaching here?" asked Harry. I had been wondering the same question.

"McGonagall knows more about my past and thought I would be good teacher. I have learned quite a lot about the dark magic from also my brother and for being in the Order. I decided to give up the job as the barman in Hog's Head. I gave my job to a younger bloke and ended up in here."

"It's good to see you here. You saved our skin during the battle. Too bad Severus wasn't there to see it." Harry mumbled, his mouth full of macaroni. I was full right after some mouthfuls. I was sure there was something wrong. But maybe it was only because of the vomit in the morning.

McGonagall told me to take Harry a tour around the castle as he hadn't seen it all yet. He had been a student and hadn't seen the places that were available only to teachers. I took Harry's hand and gazed quickly at McGonagall who looked so happy when looking at us. Her smile reached from one eat to another. I waved at them and left the Hall.

I told Harry, he should see the teachers' office. He said that he had seen it on his third year when Lupin had held their boggart lesson there. I still remember hearing about it after the lesson. Neville's boggart had taken my shape and he had dressed me up in his granny's clothes. I told him that he hadn't seen it all after all.

We reached the office and stepped inside. Harry was gazing around it. I showed him the closet they had used for the boggart training. Now it was full of teachers' robes. I told Harry to bring one of his here. One of mine was already there, left a couple of summers ago.

He noticed a fireplace in one corner and told he hadn't noticed it at all. I told Harry that the teacher meetings are held here and sometimes they inform about it only some minutes before it starts. Harry occupied one comfortable chair near the fireplace. I told him that it was mine and he should find himself another one. Harry showed me his tongue and got up.

We took our way to the teachers' bathroom. The first one was for the ladies and I showed him to the men's room. It was huge with a separate room for an enormous bath tub. Harry told that it was a bit like the one for prefects, only larger one. He stood on the edge of it and suggested that we could take a bath there some day. I said it was a brilliant idea and suggested that we shall continue our tour.

One more place was only for staff. It was a room in the dungeons. A room full of different potions for different purposes.

"If there is some kind of an accident during some lesson, the teachers usually find their way here to find some potion to cure the patient. Normally it's me who needs this room. There aren't many dangerous subjects besides potions. People end up being poisoned and with their heads full of pimples or so." Harry gulped and I told him not to worry. Usually madam Pomfrey can cure the students who manage to break their limbs during flying class.

Harry took my hand and we left the room. He told me to follow and we soon stepped out of the castle. The boy led me to the lake and we sat on the ground watching the octopus floating there. It seemed to be sleeping. Some grindylows were jumping from the lake and having fun. Harry suggested that we should go swimming one day. I asked if he was sure. Those creatures weren't so nice normally. Harry told me that he knows as he had to swim through it during the Triwizard Tournament. He smiled at me and took a hold of my hand. We just sat there without speaking. Some birds were flying above us.

Harry pointed his wand above us and created a mistletoe with it. I told him that it was far before the Christmas and he should wait until the December. But Harry didn't care and hugged me.

"You know you need kisses every day" he whispered into my ear and bit it lightly. I held Harry's head and bit his neck and sucked the spot, making it red. I told that it was the revenge for giving me one.

We laid ourselves on the ground and took a short nap. I was woken up by Harry kissing me and telling me that it would be the time for dinner soon. I said I wasn't hungry and instead headed for my dormitory when Harry went to the Great Hall.

Harry came back after an hour, telling me that a couple of other teachers had arrived. Sprout and Binns were here. The latter one had decided to travel instead of staying in the castle with the other ghosts. Harry sat on the bed asking why I wasn't hungry.

"It must be because of the feeling of being sick in the morning. I don't know why. I must be getting ill." I told him.

Another week passed by and I was already feeling a bit better. I ha vomitted once but I was ok after a few hours. It was time for the starting feast and I had regained my apetite. We headed to the Hall with the other teachers. McGonagall told us that the students were already heading for the castle. Harry was squeezing my hand and being quite nervous. I told him to relax. It wasn't going to be that difficult. We sat around the teachers' table and soon the old students arrived. Amongst them Harry told that he saw Hermione and even Draco arriving. I was surprised to see the latter one. He also recognised some Gryffindors who were only some years younger than him.

The first-years arrived soon after them. McGonagall stood beside the sorting chair with the sorting hat in her hand. The hat sang it's usual song and the sorting started. I was watching the scared students looking around. I recognised the two boys we met in Diagon Alley. Neil and Chris were sorted into Hufflepuff. They seemed sad. They had told they wanted to be in Gryffindor like Harry did.

They were waving at us happily when they noticed us and we waved back.

"Now we are pleased to announce you three new teachers. You might remember professor Snape as our potions master. He will return to teach potions this year and replaces professor Slughorn." I recieved huge applause and went red for this popularity.

"And Mr. Harry Potter" People stood up to see him and clapped. "Will be our flying teacher as madam Hooch decided to change her job. And also mr. Potter will be Gryffindor's head of the house and professor Snape will be the head of the house for Slytherin." We both gazed at McGonagall our mouths open. She had told us nothing about this. I recieved a hooray shouts from my house. I was proud to be their head but Harry looked more like scared.

After her speech Harry, who was sitting next to her, asked what on earth she was doing. McGonagall asked if she hadn't told us. Harry shook his head and she promised to instruct him and asked if I was ok with being the head. I said it was great. Many of them respect me and I suppose it would be easy for me. Harry got more relieved when we promised to help him. McGonagall told him that the main thing is to make sure they are treated properly and to take care of their punishment if needed.

Harry said he was happy as he could take points from Slytherin. He laughed so that the whole Great Hall went silent and looked at him. Harry stopped laughing and told that it wouldn't be so easy for Slytherins to recieve points from him. I told that I could still take points from Gryffindor as much as I wanted. McGonagall reminded that it shouldn't become a points battle between us. We laughed at her and Harry was sure that he'll do ok.

After the lunch some students gathered around us. A couple of Slytherins shook my hand and welcomed me back to school. They said that they can't wait for my lessons. They also welcomed Harry. I was surprised to see that. Maybe the battle had brought the houses more together.

The two Hufflepuffs, Neil and Chris came to us running and saying that we're going to be their idols although none of us represented their house. I thanked them and warned that my lessons can be a bit difficult. They said that it doesn't matter and they are going to be really interested in everything I teach them. I said that they'll see then and sneered at them. Harry hit my hand with his elbow and told to shut up. McGonagall tried not to laugh. Madam Pomfrey told that they will be ok if they end up in hospital wing. I was happy that the others joined my joke and told the students that everything's okey and they shouldn't worry.

After everyone else had left the Hall, Draco came to us and after him, followed Hermione.

"Wow, you're going to be head of our house. Incredible. From a baby boy, who conquered Voldemort to an idol who wins him finally and now he's the head of his former house. You are amazing, Harry. And professor Snape, welcome back. It means so much that you are back." Hermione was so enhusiastic.

"Thank you, miss Granger" I asnwered and she left the Hall bouncing happily.

"Welcome back, guys. I'm honoured to have you as the head of Slytherin again. I'm looking forward to potions lessons." Draco said and sat around the Slytherin table reading a book.

I asked McGonagall when the students should return to their dormitories. She said that for all that has happened, she lets them to enjoy their evening longer.

We returned to our dormitory soon and Harry took one of the Quidditch books I had given him.

"The head of the house of the Gryffindor. I would have never quessed. So now I can have the revenge. I can take all those points from Slytherin, you took away from Gryffindor when I was a student."

"If you do that... Gryffindor will lose even more points than ever." I sneered at Harry when he looked like he was going to choke me. "Aw, babe. Don't worry. Let's keep it fair, shall we? We don't take any stupid points from the houses unless it's really meanful"

"Yes, we shall do that. People would see that you can be fair." Harry answered climbing to sit on my lap, reading his book. He showed that he had written on the first page "This book is a property of the lover of Half-Blood Prince". I smiled at him and kissed his hot lips. I crossed my arms around his chest and looked at him reading the book.

I must have fallen asleep with Harry sleeping on my lap. I woke him up and told that we should return to bed. Harry mumbled something in his sleep and walked wobbling on the bed. I covered him under the blanket and laid myself next to him.

The next morning was early for both of us. My first lesson, double potion for Hufflepuff and Rawenclaw first-years started in 2 hours. I was used to have the first lesson. Usually it was always the same. Telling them the first theory about potions. Only during the second lesson, I would teach them to make one.

Harry told that the first lesson would be easy as he still remembers their first lesson. He had planned the lessons quite well during the summer and I was sure he would be ready for the lessons. Harry's lessons would start in an hour and he said he would go and prepare for the lesson. I said I will leave at the same time. We parted in front of my classroom and I gave Harry a good-luck kiss. He melted under my arms and he made the kiss last for few minutes until parting and leaving to go to the broom cupboard to find the brooms.

I sat around my table and took out the papers for the first lesson from my bag. I checked out Slughorn's papers in case there was something I hadn't thought about yet. I came across some old exam papers and thought that it would do no harm to flick them through. They were two years old and on the top, there was Harry's paper. I knew why he had got so high points. Thanks to my old school book. I was after all the only one who had managed to make the Draught of the living dead and so did Harry. Only by following my notes. Now I wasn't so angry at him. Anyone would have done that and I love him too much to be angry at.

Before the lesson I got the sick feeling once again. I had to go and vomit. After that I had to go and open the door to the new students. It felt better after vomitting. Bringing the students in, I felt so relieved. Now I couldn't turn back. My first lesson for over a year was about to start.

"Good morning, everyone. As you might know. I am professor Snape and I have been teaching here for 18 years. I have been potions master, Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher and headmaster. And now I have returned to teach potions. This is your first lesson so I will concentrate on telling you about potions and making them. Next lesson I will teach you to make one. Please, make notes and you will succeed in exams." I had to remind them as I still remembered Harry on his first lesson.

I saw those Hufflepuff kids, Neil and Chris, and they were really excited and had already picked their parchments and quills out of their bags before I told them to take notes. Most of the lesson went on normally, me talking about the basics of potions. Before the lesson ended, I asked if they had any questions. Only one hand went up.

"I'm sorry sir, but I'm interested in asking if you and professor Potter are actually a pair?" asked a young Rawenclaw girl.

"What's your name, miss?" She said she is Diana William. "Yes, we are a pair." I only answered her and was too tempted to take points from Rawenclaw but I remembered what I had promised Harry. So I only nodded and told that the class is dismissed. I was really relieved when the students had left the house.

Just after the lesson was over, there was a knock on the door. I was already afraid that some student wanted to know more about us. I was relieved when it was Harry who entered the room. He was bouncing happily and said his first lesson had gone fabulously and students had been very much into the lesson. Harry had the rest of the day off but I had one more lesson with third-year Slytherins and Gryffindors.

"You look pale again, love. Have you been vomitting again?"

"Yes. I feel so sick in the mornings. I don't know what's wrong."

"You know. Maybe we could go to St. Mungo's this evening after your following lessons. We should find out what's wrong. You've had these sick mornings too often, now." Suggested Harry and I agreed that we should find out.

The next lesson went on fine with only one accident of one student getting a burn from the potion that flew on the floor from the cauldron. I brought him some salva from the room of antipotions. I helped the boy taking care of his wound. Students brought phials of their not so good attempts to try the potion. A couple of students had managed quite well. They were Gryffindors and I had hard time giving them points. Every single student in the class looked at me with their mouths open but I just told them that the class has ended.

Harry walked inside along with the last student to leave. I said that we should disapparate there. It would be easier. We informed McGonagall who looked a bit worried. She didn't know about my sickness. We walked outside the grounds and disapparated next to St. Mungo's.

We walked inside and I was scared of what's going to happen. At the reception desk I informed what has been happening to me for the past couple of weeks. The receptionist looked at me in amazement. I wondered why she looked at me like that but didn't dare to ask.

At the waiting room Harry found a magazine of Quidditch and we started to read it together. Harry found an article about the Chudley Cannons and told that Ron might be interested. He decided to send an owl about the article, to Ron.

I was called in after half an hour. Harry said that he'll stay in the waiting room. I walked inside the doctor's office and told my problem. He also looked like he hasn't seen anything like that before. I was sure this was rare or something like that.

He said that he should take an urine test from me, just to test what might be wrong. I went to the toilet and looked at the mug where I was supposed to pee in. My hand was shaking when peeing in it. I closed it and took it back to the doctor. He told that it would take about an hour to find out the results.

I went to sit in the waiting room and told Harry what was happening. He looked happy that they were going to find out the problem and leaned against my shoulder. I placed my arm around him and held the magazine in front of us. The hour went by eazily, reading more magazines and Harry talking about his first lesson.

"I was afraid that they would hate me or expect too much of me. There was this girl who was shaking when stepping next to her broom. I told her not to worry and helped her to hold her broom. Others were only a bit scared. Most of them managed to make their brooms fly. I was so proud of them flying how I taught them to do."

I was called in after an hour and the doctor was pale when I entered the office. I was sure I was about to die or something. He gulped and looked like he didn't know how to explain all that to me. He cleared his throat.

"Eh, sir. I don't know how to explain this. I have never seen anything like this. I don't know whether to congratulate or be sorry." My eyes flew open. "Usually I tell this to women. Congratulations mr. Snape. You will become a father." My lips curled and didn't know what to say.

"But...But how?" I asked in a shaking voice.

"I really don't know. The only option is that you have drunk some potion that has helped it. Are you in a relationship with a man?" He asked.

"Yes, I am, doctor. And I recall drinking one potion, I wasn't sure about. I have so many potions as I am a potions master." I answered with nearly tears in my eyes.

"It must have been that potion that made your insides to react to semen that a baby has started growing inside you.I can suggest for either keeping the baby and giving birth to it or making am abort." He told. "I suggest you go and tell your partner and you both return here to tell me your decision."

I wobbled to the waiting room, looking as pale as one can. Harry looked worried and rushed at me, hugging me so hard, he nearly broke my ribs.

"What's wrong, darling? Tell me." He sobbed into my ear. I showed him a happy face and Harry looked puzzled. "Happy news?"

"Congratulations, mr. Potter. You will become a father." Harry looked at me with his eyes open and his eyebrow twitched. And then he was lying on the floor unconscious.

Harry finally woke up after we had carried him to the doctor's office. He opened his eyes and smiled at me.

"Are you sure, Sev? Are we going to become parents? For real?" I nodded and Harry clunged himself to my neck. "We are keeping the baby. We really are. I hope you agree." He cried.

"Yes, we are keeping the baby." I nodded to the doctor and he looked relieved.

"You need to come here next time in December and we check how your pregnancy has proceeded. Feeling sick is normal at this state of the pregnancy. You don't need to be worried. It will ease later on. I would say that you will give birth in the late April. Do you remember when you might have gotten pregnant?"

"I remember drinking the potion on mr. Potter's birthday on 31st July and we had sex on the same day." I was red for telling something so intimate to the doctor. But he must have been used to this.

"Yes, it will be late April or early May. You will have a long wait. What are you planning to do with your job?"

"I will continue teaching until I give birth. I would like to come here to give birth."

"That's fine. We are accustomed to different patients as many witches and wizards have found quite a few new illnesses during all these years. Prepare for a ceasar section, then. We cannot give guarantee that you can give birth the normal way. But will find out more about it when we see your first ultrasound." The doctor smiled and looked at Harry who was crying for happiness and was squeezing my hand.

**Happy days**

We arrived to Hogwarts quite late in the evening and there was no one in the corridors. I was happy that there was no one to explain to where we had been. Harry was complaining about the early lessons he's going to have the next morning. I laughed and told that I won't have lessons until after the lunch. Harry knocked me on my belly and ran before me into the dormitory.

"You know. Should we have our wedding before telling us about you being pregnant?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, I suppose so. But my tummy will be getting bigger only later this year so we still have some time until we should have it."

"Should we say... In a couple of weeks?" Harry asked, clearly not hearing what I had said. Harry was getting too excited and started to plan the whole wedding.

"I think we should invite the Weasleys, the Grangers and the Malfoys. The other students would participate at the ceremony anyway as we're going to hold it in the castle. Isn't it so that the headmaster has the priviledge of being able to marry couples?" He asked.

"I suppose so, yes. I didn't marry anyone so you have to ask McGonagall. And I agree on the invitations but isn't it quite early if we're going to have it in 2 weeks?"

"Aw, but I don't think I can keep our secret any longer. Maybe we should go and visit the clothing shop in Hogsmeade to get ourselves wedding dresses. I can see you in beautilful white wedding dress walking down the aisle."

" A dress? No, I want to wear a tuxedo. You can have the dress. You would look better in that. And wearing some tights or suspenders with some flashy underwear." I was thinking about Harry in that outfit and was drifting into my dreams.

"So the wedding will take place in 2 weeks time, at the weekend. So that people wouldn't need to try to concentrate both on the wedding and the lessons. So it's decided. Maybe it could be a surprise. Let's tell McGonagall to call the whole school in the Great Hall and give them a surprise. I can send the invitations. Could you take care of the food?"

"Yes. But when are we going to get the dresses for the wedding? Next weekend?"

"I suppose so. It will be 2 days until the saturday so we will have time. I think you should go and tell the elves the order quite soon. Now, let's get some sleep." Harry said and was soon snoring in the bed. I was standing in the middle of the bedroom not realising what had just happened. Only in 15 minutes we had planned our wedding. Holy crap!

I couldn't get any sleep for a while. I was lying awake and thinking about what to eat at our wedding and whether we decided about the wedding too early. Tears started to run down my face. I was wondering if I had done the right thing. Keeping the baby and agreeing on having the wedding so soon. I fell asleep crying hard.

It felt difficult to give the lessons while thinking about the wedding. The usual starting lesson for the first-years went quite easily and the others were already used to only reading the instructions and doing what I said. I nearly missed the moment when Pansy Parkinson nearly melted her cauldron while trying to make a potion. I managed to save the cauldron just in time. I made her nearly scream when I took 50 points from my own house and told her to concentrate.

It was early saturday and Harry was in his usual way, trying to pull me up.

"Wake up now, darling. It's time to go for the breakfast and then we need to go to Hogsmeade. I asked Hermione to join us. Don't worry. Only she and McGonagall know about our wedding. I decided that we need woman's viewpoint in this stuff. We will meet in front of the front door in 2 hours. Come on."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm already up." I looked at my little lover with my hair fuzzy and eyes still blurry. Harry was clutching my clothes and told me to dress up. I grabbed my clothes from his hand and saw that he had found my white t-shirt and some old jeans. I looked at them in amazement. This must be one of the first times I'm not wearing my teaching robes inside the school.

Indeed it was rare. When we stepped in to the Great Hall, some people were scrubbing their eyes in disbelief and whispering if it really was me. I would have wanted a sign on my neck saying "Yes, I AM your teacher, Severus Snape".

I sat at the table and was so sleepy that I hit my head on the wooden surface of it. Harry lifted my head up and placed a plate under my nose. He had put some breakfast on it. McGonagall sat next to us and told that it was a good idea from us, not mentioning what idea it was. I was already hoping that the usual rumours wouldn't start going around in the school.

We stepped out of the front doors and Hermione was already waiting for us. She said that this was going to be one of the best things in her life. Helping her best friend and teacher to plan their wedding. Harry was eager and told her everything he had planned. We were about to send the invitations in the Three Broomsticks after trying out the costumes.

We returned to the Gladrags Wizardwear. This time I told Harry not to even think buying anything weird like those socks last time. I had been looking at those red socks for one night when I hadn't got any sleep.

The owner of the shop was surprised when I said we needed a wedding dress for Harry and a tuxedo for me. Hermione said that she was only helping us to find what we wanted. But the owner was nice and helpful.

I tried on a couple of tuxedos and didn't feel like finding the right one. Harry went behind the shop and arrived with the best one you can find. It was neat and black. It fitted perfectly. Harry asked why the owner had kept it behind the desk. She said that it was second hand and usually people wanted to have a new one. But I told her that this is what I will have. She looked surprised and happy that I finally had found the one. Harry said that luckily we didn't need to buy a larger one as my tummy wasn't getting that big yet. Now the owner was even more surprised. Hermione had heard about that one already so we didn't have to be careful what to say.

Harry was ready to try some dresses on. The first one was a plain and white. It was skin-tight and of course a bit too big around his chest. Harry shook his head and asked for something with some embroidery. Only some small ones.

When the owner brought one dress after trying out a couple of ones, we knew what we needed. It was a beautiful and natural white coloured with embroided lilies around the hem. I fell on my knees and took a better look at it. I told the owner that we had just found exactly what we wanted. Harry nodded and looked like it was difficult for him not to cry.

I told her that we still needed shoes and the tights for Harry. It was difficult to find suitable ones for Harry as his shoe size was a bit bigger than normally the ones for ladies. I had found nice, black, and lacquered leather shoes. Harry decided to only decide the style of the shoes and then they would measure the size of his shoe. He wanted to have white ones with a low heel without any decorations.

On our way to Three Broomsticks, I asked about the bouquet. Harry said that we could find some nice flowers from the grounds of Hogwarts. I decided it would be the best and we wouldn't have to think more about it.

We ordered some pumpkin juice for all of us and started to plan the invitations. Harry told that he wouldn't want the others to notice the quests so they would arrive at the Great Hall first so we needed them to arrive quite early. Harry pulled out parchments and quill and started to write. Instead of waiting for 2 weeks, he had decided to have the wedding next week. We were lucky that the dresses would be ready until next week. Hermione had decided to write her parents herself and Harry ordered her what to write. Hermione suggested that she could propose Ron at the same time. Ron was too slow to make these things real. We laughed and finally sent Lily on her way to deliver the letters.

After finishing our drinks and discussing the last things about the wedding, we left the Three Broomsticks and started to walk towards Hogwarts. McGonagall was greeting us at the front door and we told her that everything was settled. Now I remembered the food and told that I still needed to go to kitchens.

I walked towards the kitchens underground. I wasn't sure at all what to ask them to do. When I opened the door there, one of the house-elves was standing before me.

"Professor Snape. What an honour. What could we do for you?" He asked and bowed.

"I and Harry Potter are going to have our wedding ceremony next week's saturday. We'd need some food and a wedding cake. The ceremony starts at 10 in the morning and the wedding lunch starts at 11. And if you could bring in the cake after the lunch. I will leave it to your imagination what you will serve. I have no idea what Harry has in his mind. I hope you can think of something. It doesn't need to be flashy or anything. Just some usual food." I ordered the elf and added that we should have some champagne at first. And for the underage students, some juice. The elf bowed and promised to fulfill my wish as well as they could.

I thanked the elf and left the kitchen. I knew that those little fellows really did their best always. They could do as good meal as Molly. I don't understand why so many people disrespect house elves. They do so many things many wizards would never dream of.

I stumbled into Harry on my way back to my bedroom. I had to patrol the corridors today and wanted to change my clothes first back to my usual teaching robes. I wanted to try out the new one we had ordered before returning to Hogwarts. Harry was suggesting that he could come with me and decided to show the kid how to do it. He had still a lot to learn. After changing my clothes, we took our way and were walking along the corridors.

"I heard you took points from Slytherin. Even from Pansy. She must have been quite pissed. She's dating Draco but I know Draco isn't so much into her. He has someone in his mind but can't remember her name." Harry was chattering.

"I hope you have treated your own house the same way. Remember that the students only gain points for good actions and lose every time if they do something really wrong. I took points from miss Parkinson when she was about to blow up one of the cauldrons." I taught Harry.

Harry went silent and admitted that he had taken points from Slytherin for only someone talking silently in the classroom. I told him that it was my style until this year and that he shouldn't use the same method. It wasn't that good idea. Harry sighed and looked like he had done wrong.

We spotted some Slytherins teasing some Hufflepuff girl. I went straight to them and asked what was going on. The older Slytherins seemed to be so confident that I wouldn't take points from them and decided not to explain and the young girl said that the Slytherin group had stolen her homework parchments. I required the Slyhterins to return them immediately. One boy was reluctantly handing them over to the girl who was nearly crying.

"And before anyone of you leaves, 50 points will be taken from Slytherin for teasing other students. If I ever see you doing that again, detention will surely happen." The Slytherin group escaped and the sobbing girl thanked me and ran away.

"That was incredible. I still remember those times when you gave us no mercy even if the Slytherins were the one to blame."

"I thought even I should change, you know." I gazed out of the window and told Harry that sometimes changing things can mean a lot. The rest of the patrol went well and there wasn't so much hazzle in the corridors.

Our wedding was arriving and it was saturday morning and we had recieved our costumes a couple of days earlier. Harry's shoes fitted perfectly and he looked cute in his dress. I was sure nothing could harm this day. McGonagall knocked on the door and Harry, dressed in the wedding dress went to open the door. She looked at him with her eyes open and told him how cute he looked. And she told me that she would have never quessed to see me in that nice clothes some day.

The quests had already arrived and she told that the students were on their way to the Great Hall. She left the room and I started to put my shoes on. Harry turned around and asked what he looked like.

"Better than ever. Fabulous as usual, my dear." I told him and kissed him with long and loving kiss. "I think we should go now. They must be waiting for us."

The corridors were already empty and we took some time to walk to the Hall together. The doors were closed and I guessed that it was for the excitement. We stood there for a moment and suddenly the doors started to open. I saw McGonagall to wave her wand to open them. People stood up in amazement and McGonagall had made the school choir to sing In Noctem for our wedding. I still liked the song a lot and it felt nice for the wedding.

We walked along the aisle towards the front of the hall where the teachers' table was. Harry was nearly stumbling in his dress and shoes but I held him up and he clutched more closely to me. We slowly walked in front of McGonagall and she showed the wedding quests to sit down after the choir had finished singing. Harry was already crying when she started the speech.

"_Dear students, staff and our wedding quests. We are gathered here to join Severus Snape and Harry Potter in matrimony. _

_The fate brought these men together all those years ago when Severus was teaching here and Harry joined his fellow students in the Gryffindor table. Year by year they realised that there was something more between them and the fate finally showed itself when Severus was about to die and Harry realised it was his chance to save the life of a man he had hated and loved. _

_Last summer they finally started living together and Harry had found himself a true home in his beloved's house. Now we are also pleased to announce that the family will expand with one more member next April. We would like to wish Severus a pleasant time watching his baby to grow inside him._

_If anyone can show just cause why these two should not bejoined together in matrimony, then let him speak now or forever hold his peace. _

_Will you Severus Tobias Snape take Harry James Potter to be your husband for better or for worse from this day forward until death do you apart?"_

"_I do" I was sure Harry couldn't see anything behind his tears._

"_Will you Harry James Potter take Severus Tobias Snape to be your husband for better or for worse from this day forward until death do you apart?"_

"_I-I do." He sobbed as an answer to McGonagall's speech._

"_I will announce you as a married couple. You may kiss the spouse." _

McGonagall finished and took her half-moon spectacles off and cleaned them from her tears. Harry grabbed my head and gave me a kiss and decided to make it longer and longer. The applause didn't seem to end at all. People were standing and clapping their hands. We exchanged the rings. They were made of gold and were only simple ones with carvings inside that sai our names and our wedding day, that was 12th September 1998.

After the ceremony, the meal arrived. I was amazed at the quality of the food. The elves had brought us three main courses with wine and non-alcoholic drinks. We looked at them in surprise. It felt like we hadn't seen any food for days. Harry took a mouthful of his grilled chicken and potatoes and I watched all the students gramming in. I looked at my veal like I wasn't sure how I was going to feel the following day. At least now I know it isn't the food that makes me sick.

After the main course, Harry had decided to have a speech. I wasn't ready for one at all. So I hoped Harry's one would do.

"_Dear wedding quests and my beloved husband, Severus. We have gathered here to surprise you all with out wedding and as you may have heard, telling you about our baby, who will be born in April. We were also surprised to hear about it last week. We were as surprised as you must be. Never would have quessed anything like it. _

_In the late spring we gave you another surprise by getting engaged. Only few days earlier I had saved Severus's life by bringing him home, here in the castle. Without the help of madam Pomfrey I would have never been able to save his life._

_This castle has been like a home for both of us. We found our home here, where we wouldn't have to watch out families quarreling and being unfair to us. That's one of the common things between us. I have realised during these months that there are many things in common between the two of us and that our fate really was to end up together._

_I could never be happier than now, when I watch my beloved here with me, rings on our fingers. I can say nothing else than take 10 points from Slytherin"_

I heard a diamond to drop in the hourglass with the points of Gryffindor. I closed my eyes and told that 10 points will be rewarded to Slytherin. Just in time I told Harry what McGonagall had said about the fight for the points.

Harry sat down with blush in his face. I winked at him when he looked at me and smiled. At least I prevented him from taking more points from my house. The cake arrived and it was huge. It was placed in front of the teachers' table on a separate table. It really was big enough to cater the whole school.

I and Harry took our first slices, followed by the staff and quests and then the very awaiting students. It was quite a rush when all of them tried to be the first ones to get their took a spoonful of his cake and fed it to me kissing me after I had eaten it.

After eating the cake, people stayed at the Hall, chatting and having fun. I hadn't thought anything about dancing or something like that. Harry said not to worry and we would be doing that too, later on. I knew I was a terrible dancer. And now I was supposed to be ready to get humiliated by people watching me stumbling in my steps.

McGonagall asked for attention and said that there was another surprise ahead. I knew it was for Hermione and Ron and soon I saw Hermione kneeling in front of Ron. The latter one looked like he surely was going to say no. But he did say yes. Another round of applause went through the Hall. At least now there would be no surprises left, except for the dance.

I wasn't ready at all when Harry pulled me up and said we should start the wedding waltz. I shook my head but I couldn't resist when he had decided that the waltz is important part of the ceremony.

"Come on, sweetheart. It's not that difficult and I can't dance either. It's just one, two, three. One, two, three. That simple." Harry pulled me to the floor that had been cleared from the tables. I tried my best to explain why I shouldn't dance. But Harry had decided not to listen to my complaints.

"Put your hand on my waist. Yes, waist. And another hand in my other hand." I complied and thought that this was going to be like hell. I still remember the Yule Ball few years ago. Harry actually tried to ask me to dance with him. But I said no.

I tried to follow Harry's steps. He told that usually man leads but this can be an exception. For this once. I stumbled quite easily but after a while got used to following the steps and just enjoy the dance. After the waltz I asked Harry if we could just sit down for a while.

"So. Did you like it? You did quite well after a while." Harry asked.

"It was nice. I enjoyed it a lot after I got used to the steps." Harry told that we could join some slow dancing. He told that all it took was only to lean on each other and sway here and there. It sounded a lot easier and I nodded at him.

The evening was approaching when Harry said that we should go on the dancefloor. The floor was filling up with students and some of them had already returned to their hugged me and leaned his head on my shoulder. I crossed my arms around him and only let the music to quide our dance. It was like this moment should have lasted forever. Feeling Harry's body next to mine and enjoying his hot breath on my neck. Harry lifted his head, looking at me with his green eyes. He smiled at me and I returned his smile and kissed him on his forehead.

"I love you, Harry." I whispered to him.

"I love you too, Severus".

Mainly the evening passed by with us dancing until Harry said that his legs were dead in his shoes. We sat around one of the small tables and our newly engaged pair joined us.

"Congratulations, guys. You are the most beautiful wedding pair ever." Hermione cried.

"Congratulations to you too. Must be nice to be engaged." Harry grinned.

"Yes it is. Have you thought if you're going to have the same surname?" Ron asked.

"Yes, Harry will share my surname. But he will still keep his own surname. He's too famous to change it. So, he's going to be Harry Potter-Snape, then." I thought it sounded funny and Harry looked like it was something to be ashamed of. We told him that it's a nice combination.

Harry said that he was sleepy enough to go back to our room. I agreed and thought about the evening still ahead. Something you can never forget. We said goodnights to people who we met on our way. We walked slowly towards our room.

After opening the door, I closed it and pushed my newly wed little boy against the wall holding his hands against the wall and kissing all over his face and neck.

"So excited already, aren't we?" I shut his mouth with my kisses and Harry closed his eyes letting me to pleasure him. He was trembling under my hold and I held him up.

Harry's dress was big enough so I could hide inside it's hem. I raised it and let it fall over me. I realised that Harry had found himself nice and girly underwear. I started to undress his tights and pulled them down so slowly that Harry was already trying to pull them down himself. I slapped his hands to put them away. Instead I licked slowly the fabric of his underwear. The cloth had already got a bit wet from Harry's excitement.

I slided my finger along his spine and Harry shivered. After a long and painful teasing, I pulled his underwear off. I licked my fingers so that I could enter them better inside Harry. He moaned when I pushed my first finger in.

"Shall I put in more?" I got a moaning answer that was quite unclear and without waiting any clarification, I pushed another finger in. Harrry was nearly screaming at this point. I pushed my fingers in a couple of times listening to the boy panting. I nearly knocked him off from his feet when I pushed the third finger in. Now he couldn't take it any longer and was moaning that I should put something bigger in.

"And what would that be?" I asked him. Harry looked at me with a red face and I pushed once more with a force and took my fingers out. I started to pull my pants down and Harry was already taking his dress off hastily. He really wanted some quick fuck.

I pushed Harry back against the wall and kneeled in front of him, starting to place kisses on the head of his dick. I licked the base of it and all along the shaft, giving Harry shudders. I took it all the way in and sucked it like you had never seen. I was more like a hungry baby drinking milk. Harry fell on the floor and drips of precum dropped from my mouth on the floor. Harry sat there and panted. I looked at his beautiful face and removed his glasses that were already tilted on his face. They were sweaty and I put them in a corner along our clothes.

I was still wearing my jacket and it had already gone dirty from my drool and Harry's juice, so I took it off and tossed it in the same pile. Harry started to unbutton my blouse. After a couple of buttons, he decided there were too many of them and he pulled it over my head.

Harry was demanding me to release the pain in his crotch. I didn't help his pain but instead started to pump my own erection to get ready for the action. I watched Harry gently grabbing his dick and watched me masturbating and did the same to him. Harry was already nearly cumming when I told him to stop and crawled above him.

I grabbed both our dicks and pumped them mutually. Harry said he wanted me inside him immediately and I told him that I wouldn't obey like that. I kneeled over his head and ordered him to suck me. First he only licked the head a couple of times and then bit it playfully. I grimaced at the pain and told him to stop doing it. He licked my balls for a while and pumped my dick with his hand. I was moaning with intense pleasure.

I slowly reached Harry's crotch and gave it a small pinch. I reached his butt and rimmed the anus a little and giving him more reason to beg for relief. I shook my head and guided my dick slowly inside him.

The boy cried when I reached the bottom. I started to thrust slowly and started to make the pace faster. It felt good to feel his hot anus and my balls hitting his bum. Harry grabbed my arms and digged his finger nails into them. I told him to be more gentle. He crossed his legs around me to feel the thrusts better.

I pushed in gently and Harry was groaning about the too slow pace and he cried when I made it faster. I told him that I wouldn't let him cum too early and after a while I stopped my motion. Harry looked at me like he was disappointed and soon, without any warning I pulled myself out completely and with a force pushed back in. Harry was grimacing and panting. I wasn't sure whether he liked it or not but continued fucking his sweet anus.

"You're so tight, Harry. You make me cum too easily" I panted and groaned when I poured all my seed inside him. I fell on top of Harry and stayied there panting. I kneeled and told him to stand up. The shaking boy stood up with his legs like jelly. As he managed to get up, I took his dick inside my mouth immediately and sucked him until he groaned and told he was about to cum. I left my mouth open and recieved Harry's hot cum inside my mouth. The boy fell on the floor by the force of his orgasm.

"You looked so cute when you were kneeling there with your mouth open, you know." He told me and wiped some semen off my face. I told him we should clean up ourselves and went for the wardrobe and took two towels from there, throwing Harry one of them.

I was standing under the shower and letting the cool water to run down my body. I touched my hair and noticed that there was still Harry's seed on it.

"So this is how your hair stays greasy all the time." Harry laughed when he arrived and saw me examining my hair. "Seed from some little, innocent boys"

"Innocent? I'll show you some innocence." I told him and slapped his butt hard. Harry screamed and left the shower, looking at me from behind the shower curtain. I tried to wash my hair clean but it seemed hopeless. The seed was gone but my hair was still as greasy as it has always been.

I washed myself and told Harry that the shower was free for use. He slipped past me fast, like trying to avoid my hand. I went back to bedroom and put on my nightgown. Harry arrived some ten minutes later, soaking wet. I asked where he had left his towel and he ran back to the bathroom to take it with him.

I watched Harry drying himself and looked at his cute butt straight in front of me. He sat on the bed and yawned.

"Such a nice wedding, wasn't it" He asked and I nodded. "Too bad, this doesn't happen more often." He laughed and laid himself on the bed.

"Goodnight, Severus"

"Goodnight, Harry Potter-Snape." I whispered and giggling Harry fell asleep, followed by me.

**Your baby is my baby**

The autumn passed by nicely. Harry got more used to teaching and he was always eager to tell how his students had emproved and what he had taught them this time. He was also eagerly waiting for the Quidditch matches as he was the referee.

"I only wish all the students had the same motivation on my classes." I mumbled. "Usually they seem to think I'm quite a laugh when saying something seriously. Maybe I should throw in some jokes. But I don't know any."

"They will have the motivation if you tell them that they will have to know all of it when they make their exam."

"I have told them. Sometimes I wish I would raise my voice to shout at them but it's completely not my style. I hate raising my voice. I'm so used to get attention by only telling people to be silent. You do remember all those classes when I told you to be quiet..."

The first Quidditch match was about to start and I was sitting amongst the other teachers, waiting for the teams to arrive. It was the regular Gryffindor vs. Slytherin match. I was so used to these that I was sure Gryffindor would win. Just like usual. Harry had insisted on me bringing my Slytherin scarf with me. I told him that I would look ridiculous but he had tied it around my neck and told not to dare to take it off.

"How is your pregnancy going, Severus. I heard your first ultrasound is ahead of you soon. Must be exciting to see the tiny creature inside your tummy." Professor Sprout said.

"Yeah. Harry seems to be more excited than me. He can't hold his horses at all. He counts the days and hours. I have counted the weeks. But now it's only a few weeks away and I am getting more excited too. Feels funny to go and see it as my tummy hasn't grown that much yet."

"That's just normal, Severus. Just wait." McGonagall commented just in time before the teams arrived.

I saw that the teams hadn't changed that much. They had lost members during the battle but the rest of them had stayed. Harry was keeping thumbs up for Ginny Weasley and I hoped he wouldn't have done that as some Slytherins noticed and I heard some booing from their direction. I shook my head and hoped he would be fair.

Slytherin goaled twice before Gryffindor woke up properly and realised that they are falling behind. The seekers were desperate after Slyhterin had goaled a couple more. Harry was grimacing on his broom and looked like he wanted to catch the snitch himself. I noticed he had seen it but the seekers hadn't. Soon I saw the Slyhterin seeker diving towards the ground but just before he had grabbed it, another hand had reached it and Gryffindor had won, without making any goals. I sighed in the audience and told cheering McGonagall that I knew what was going to happen.

Harry was cheering along and made Slytherins angry once again. He landed next to me and gave a kiss.

"Better luck next time, love." And he flew away. Other professors were laughing when they saw my red face. I descended towards the ground and met Harry on his way to the dressing room of Gryffindor. I thought I could visit the Slytherins. They must be angry at him.

"Hello, professor. Too bad the Weasley girl caught the snitch right before our eyes. We would have won. Getting excited with the pregnancy?" I explained them all about what has happened and that I will do the ultrasound soon. Just before I decided to leave, I heard a voice from the corner of the dressing room.

"Could you, please, tell Potter to be fair to us?" Draco Malfoy said angrily. He was sitting there behind all his team mates. He had returned to play as the seeker. I nodded at him and told that I'll try to teach him some manners.

"Harry. You know, Slytherins weren't so impressed when you were on your teams side. You are a referee after all, not a member of the Gryffindor team anymore."

"I knew I did wrong, alright." He shouted and stormed away, clearly crying.

"It's good that you told him. But I think you should go after him and make sure he'll be alright." McGonagall had stepped beside me and looked worried. I said yeah and took my way back to the castle.

I walked towards our dormitory and thought he must have gone somewhere else, drowning his worries. I opened the door and only a silence greeted me. I sat on the bed and buried my face into my hands. I thought I should have talked to him in a nicer way. But I had said what was right. Soon I heard sobbing sounds from the bathroom and heard a shower going on. I opened the door slowly as it wasn't locked and peeked in. Harry was sitting under the shower, in his full clothing and was crying hopelessly.

He hadn't noticed me walking in. He had bent his legs against his chest and buried his face into his knees. I stepped in front of him and Harry lifted his gaze. His eyes were swollen and red and tears were running on his face. He started crying even harder when seeing me.

I didn't think of undressing myself and sat on the floor with Harry and pressed him against my chest and let him cry as hard as he could. After a while he managed to ease his crying and he ended up sobbing and he buried his face against my chest.

"Is there something you would like to tell me? I can see you're not really well. You can tell me what's wrong." I comforted him. The red eyes looked back at me and Harry stopped sobbing.

"I have done so much but I don't think it's enough. I require too much of me and think that no one respects me. I know my students like me but I think they fake it. I tried to be fair during the Quidditch match but I am still too much of a supporter for my own house. I knew the Slytherins were angry and felt terrible when I realised what I had done. That's why I couldn't bare to see you as I knew you were about to comment it." Harry sneezed into his referee shirt and crossed his arms around me.

"I know people respect you. You are an awesome teacher. I have heard students talking about your lessons. You are not a bad teacher. I quessed it would be difficult for you to referee the first match as it was Gryffindor vs. Slytherin. But you can improve at that. Next match can be a bit easier as it's Hufflepuff vs. Rawenclaw. Believe me, you can do it. And I support you, young man. I love you so much. I want you to be happy." I wiped away his hair from his face and hugged him tighter.

I stood up and helped Harry to stand up. We went to change our clothes and we hurried to have the lunch. I was worried about him and thought that maybe seeing the baby might help him to forget his worries for a while.

It was saturday morning when we were about to go to St. Mungo's for the ultrasound. I had to drag Harry up as he had forgotten what day it was and he was hoping to sleep longer.

"You are the one who has counted the days. Come on now." I dragged him up.

"Oh, it's the day. I had already forgotten. Are we late yet?"

"No, but we have to eat the breakfast first. I think you should dress up before entering the corridors." I shouted after him as he nearly had walked out of the door with only his boxers on. Now he really had motivation to get up. Harry dressed himself quickly and I followed him a few minutes later. When I arrived at the Great Hall, Harry had nearly finished his breakfast.

"What have you fed to this boy? It's early morning and he's happy like Gryffindor would have just won the house cup." Asked madam Pomfrey who was the only person from the staff who was already up. I told her the reason and she congratulated and wished us luck. I thanked her and after a while followed Harry outside.

He was already telling me to hurry up and ran down the hill, towards the borders of the school. Harry wanted us to apparate, instead of flying. He told that it would be better for me and the baby. I rolled my eyes and thought, oh well at least I don't have to sit on my broom.

At the reception, there was a new nurse who was looking at us with her mouth open when I told her what we were here for. I was too used to see people looking at me like that. She looked like she was thinking that the hair made me look female 'ish but otherwise not and that this must be a joke. But she guided us forward.

We sat in the same waiting room and waited for a midwife to call us in. Harry was holding my hand and it was shaking. I told him to relax and it would be great experience. He was staring at the opposite wall and smiling broadly.

Our midwife was a young man who greeted us with enthusiasm. He told that this was the first time he saw male pregnancy and he was really interested to see the progression. I told that it's nice that we got someone who undertstands and has real interest. I sat on the examining table and looked at him eyes wide open when he told to remove my trousers completely.

"We have to put this inside you, to see the womb and foetus clearly." He showed me something that looked like some dildo for medical use. My eye twitched and I thought that I could do nothing to prevent it so I only nodded and took my trousers off.

I grimaced when the midwife put the machine inside me. It hurt even though he had lubricated it. Harry was holding my hand and telling me that it's ok. The pain stopped and the midwife pulled my shirt up to reach the whole tummy. He took another dildo like machine and lubricated it and I was already worrying he would stick it inside too.

But instead he pressed it against my belly and moved it around. He showed us a screen and told to look at it. Soon we saw something and he told that our baby was there. On the screen, there was a tiny creature moving and it's heart was beating visibly on the screen and we could hear the heartbeat.

"There is our baby, Harry." I looked at him and he was crying from happiness. I could do nothing but let my tears flow too. Harry pressed his hand gently on the screen.

"This is amazing. Hello, little one." He whispered to the screen. The midwife measured the baby and said that he had grown nicely.

"Can you tell the gender of the baby yet?" I asked him and he wanted to know if were sure we wanted to know and we both answered yes. He told us that it's a boy.

The tiny little fellow on the screen kept moving around a little and we just kept watching him. Harry was squeezing my hand and we were both sobbing. It was incredible to see what was growing inside me. Our baby. Harry hugged me and kissed my forehead. The midwife told us that we can have photos from the screen if we want. Undoubtedly we agreed.

"The due date for the birth is approximately on 2nd May. It's not unusual that the baby might be born before or after that. But be prepared that he is born around that time."

I was told to dress up and that we were ready to leave. He told us to contact if anything unusual happens. Harry was reaching his hands to accept the photos and he was jumping around happily, clutching them. We thanked the midwife and left the hospital. Harry was running around and squeezing the photos on his chest. I told him not to scrunch them.

We arrived back to the castle and were greeted by a bunch of students who were waiting inpatiently in front of the front doors. They wanted to know what happened there and what gender the baby was. I told them to see it when the baby was born. Harry was handing out the photos for them to see and soon we had an audience around us hearing what we had to say.

On sunday, we were sitting on a bench outside the castle and were preparing next week's lessons. The days were getting chillier but there was no snow on the ground. Harry was wearing his Gryffindor scarf and I was worried that it might disturb some students. But I couldn't prevent him from wearing it.

I was concentrated on the essays when I felt a kick in my tummy and pressed my hand against it. I told Harry that the baby had kicked and Harry immediately went happy and put his hand on it too. The baby gave a couple of more kicks and stopped soon. We were both smiling and at the same time sad that it hadn't lasted any longer.

"Well, are you done with your lessons? I still have a lot of essays to mark. You can go inside already to warm up." I told Harry who was sitting there and clearly had finished his work for today. He left inside and was waving happily at everyone who passed him by.

It took me a couple of hours to finish marking the last essay and I was freezing so I went back to our dormitory and started to fill the bath. I needed a hot bath after sitting there for ages. I undressed and soaked into the bath. I put my hand on my stomach and patted it lightly and smiled. I couldn't wait until May to get the baby on my arms.

There was a knock on the bathroom door and it opened squeaking. Harry was standing there and asked if he could join me. I nodded and he hurried to the bath and started undressing. He tried to fit himself on my small bath tub. It looked hopeless and I bent my knees to make more room for him.

"You know. Next time we need to use the teachers' bathroom. This tub is getting too small for the three of us." Harry said, trying to find a better position.

"It might get too small for only the two of us, too. Have to think about the teachers' bathroom. It's quite rarely used so we could go there some time." Harry sat on my lap and leaned his face on my chest. He was rubbing my belly and he offered to wash my back.

"This day was absolutely one of the best days of my life. Seeing my baby for the first time. Can't wait for you to give birth." Said Harry, rubbing my back. "I just hope your sex drive won't disappear during the pregnancy." I uttered a laughter.

"You wish."

It was Christmas and we had decided to spend it in Hogwarts as Harry was telling me to stay there because all his friends did too. My tummy was getting bigger a little and Harry was suggesting that I should wear some maternity clothes. I looked at him like he was mad. But I had to agree that my teaching robes weren't that fitting with my belly.

On the Christmas eve, people had gathered in the Great Hall to spend the Christmas feast together. Harry had told me that we should open the presents later in the evening so I spent the whole feast by thinking what on earth he might have happened to buy for me.

I liked the turkey but somehow I didn't have so much apetite for it. Harry tried to tuck some of it in my mouth after a couple of mouthfuls. I heard your apetite might change when you're pregnant. So this is it.

People were opening those candies that contains different presents. I still remember when Dumbledore recieved one hat that was the same kind of, that Neville's grandmother wears and that I was "delighted" to wear. Harry insisted on opening one with me. I was afraid to recieve something like that hat. No, this time it was the bloody red handbag. Harry laughed his socks off and suggested that maybe next year I would get the green dress. I had told him about that hat. I hit him on the head with the bag and suggested that maybe he should take it.

After the feast Harry was sitting in front of one of the Christmas trees. It was decorated with shiny and colour changing crystal balls and staring somewhere. I sat next to him and looked at Peeves trying to hit students with the decorations.

"Peeves, you idiot. Put those down immediately." Shouted McGonagall.

"Okey dokey." Came the answer and he dropped them on the floor and the crystal balls smashed. And Peeves was gone.

"The same thing every year." I sighed. "They can't prevent him doing that. Stupid poltergeist. He's still as nasty as he was when I was a student." Some ghosts were floating pass us and singing Christmas carols. It felt more of a Christmas here than in Spinner's End.

"Imagine. Only a bit over 4 months to go and we'll be holding our son in our arms." Harry whispered. He must have missed the whole show and was gazing dreamily at the tree. I waved my wand and created a blanket out of the air and put it around us. Harry sat closer to me and I crossed my arm around us. It was the best Christmas ever. For years I had been spending my Christmases in either Spinner's End or here, only coming out of my dormitory to take part in the feast.

Back in the dormitory Harry rushed to his trunk to grab the presents. He had bought 5 and I was worried as I had bought only one. I was blushing when giving it to him. He said that the amount doesn't matter.

I opened my first gift and guessed that Harry had bought some maternity clothes. Yes, I was right. I couldn't help but laugh when I saw a white t-shirt with a text "Baby on board". Harry was blushing when I laughed. I told him not to worry. It's just a good laugh. I would have never guessed that he would buy me a new jacket. It was just like my old one I used when teaching, but only large enough to fit my belly. The only things I could do but think wow. Harry said he hopes it will fit all the way through my pregnancy.

He had also bought me some chocolates. "You will be eating them a lot during the pregnancy, believe me." and some underwear, yes underwear. The typical Christmas gift. Harry said that they should fit, too until the baby is born.

I kissed Harry and thanked for the presents. Harry was curious when opening my present. I hope it wouldn't go over the top. I had quite the same idea with the t-shirt. Harry, just like me, started laughing when seeing it. I had got him a black one with pink text. The combination I would never wear.

"Father of my boyfriend's baby" Harry giggled. "That's too cute." He laughed and put the shirt on. He grabbed a box of every fkavour beans I had bought and sat by the fireplace, waving his wand to light a fire. I sat on the sofa and stared at the fire. It was getting colder in the dungeons so the fire was quite useful. Harry laid himself on the sofa, his head on my lap and soon he fell asleep and next morning we both woke up there.

**The baby**

It was early April and my tummy had gotten very big and it was difficult to move around. Harry tried to easy my back aches by massaging my back every day. I was more into sitting on my chair when lecturing the students. Many of them asked why I didn't take the paternity leave already. I told them that I'll teach until I give birth. I wouldn't give up teaching because of my huge belly.

It was another potions lesson and the last lesson of the day. I was holding my back because of the ache and was walking amongst the students. I sighed when a first-year Rawenclaw made his potion to pour all over the table. I cleaned the table just in time before it would have started melting.

"10 points from Rawenclaw. I told you to use only 2 tablespoons of the powdered root of asphodel. Remember to read the instructions better next time."

I sat around the table and watched the students finishing their potions and putting them in the phials. Before they left, Harry walked into the classroom and said he will wait until the lesson is over as he saw the students still in the room. The students started to leave and Harry told that we should go and have a dinner.

"After that I thought that we should go to the teachers' bathroom and have some fun." He winked and I thought that this was something I had been waiting for. "I already reserved it so no one would appear there."

"Now they are going to get even more curious if they happen to hear about it. I suppose you already have told someone where we go? Don't forget how fast rumours spread here." I sneered. Harry shook his head and joked that it had come to his mind but he didn't tell anyone anyway.

Harry ate his dinner hastily and ran out from the Great Hall, shouting that he shall go there already and I should follow when I'm ready. Now they really do know there's something going on. Thanks, Harry.

"How is your baby doing? It must be difficult to teach with your belly on the way." Asked Aberforth when he arrived to have his dinner.

"Doing quite ok. Lots of back ache but I'll cope with it. Even students have suggested that I should take my paternity leave already. But I think it's my responsibility to continue teaching. I heard Slughorn will replace me. Although he wanted to retire completely. But he has the same passion for potions as I do."

"I hope you will manage to teach until the baby is born. How many weeks do you have left?"

"Three. You can tell by the size of my belly. Harry can't wait and he made me wear some maternity clothes. Look." I showed him the shirt under my jacket, trying not to show it to the students. Aberforth gave a laugh and told that Harry really has some imagination. I told him about Harry's shirt and he laughed even more. I hadn't been wearing my blouse for a while now. I was too lazy to buy one to fit this belly inside it.

I got up and started to wobble towards the bathroom. I bumped into Peeves who was singing clearly something about me and my belly. I shouted at him and told to shut up. He disappeared into some classroom and laughed on his way. Really annoying, that one.

I knocked on the door and Harry stormed to the door to open it. He took my hands and pulled me inside. He had lit some candles there and had already filled the bathtub. It was enormous but with magic it could be filled in only a couple of minutes. Harry had added the bubbles and told me to hurry up and dive in. He already had taken his clothes off and ran in the bath. He was floating on his back when I entered the pool.

"Nice one, isn't it. I asked the elves to bring us something to eat." Harry pointed to the edge of the pool and I noticed some champagne and strawberries with whipped cream. Ah, the usual one. It's like having a date with him.

I leaned my back against the wall of the pool and Harry walked to me and sat on my lap, facing me and he started humming something to my belly. He hugged it and stayed there for a while only feeling the baby kicking.

"It's like he wants to get out already" Harry grinned. I certainly hoped he would be born as soon as possible. It's been a long wait and only three weeks to go. Moving around was difficult and everyone was suggesting I should take the paternity leave immediately.

"Should we eat something?" Harry got up and fetched the tray, pouring champagne. I looked at it suspiciously. "Only one glass. It won't hurt you." He gave me the glass and poured himself another glass. He raised the glass. "To us and our baby." He drank the whole glass empty and started to fiddle with the strawberries.

"Strawberries and champagne. How come?" I asked.

"I thought it would be nice to celebrate before the baby is born. I thought this would be a nice moment for that." He dipped some strawberry and tucked it in to my mouth. As a response, I did the same to him.

"Oi, take it easy." Harry laughed. I told him that it was him who started.

Harry dived to the other end of the pool and sat on the edge, watching out of the window. He wondered what people would be thinking if they noticed him. He stood there so that anyone could have seen him completely. I told him to sit down immediately. I didn't want him to get in any harm for standing there like that.

Harry came back to me and sat next to me and guided his hand towards my thighs. I shivered and the baby kicked in response. I gave a laugh and Harry was wondering what had happened until he felt another kick and started to laugh too.

Harry started to slide his hand towards my crotch and my face went red as I moaned deeply by the sensation. He rubbed my belly and made his hand lower little by little. He played with my pubic hair and tried to kiss me while sitting on my lap.

"Hey, your belly is on the way. Could you move it." Harry laughed.

"You just have to wait until the baby is born, darling." Harry looked disappointed and sat beside me so he could kiss me properly.

"So we'll do it the doggy way then." Harry suggested and I nodded with enthusiasm and reminded him to be careful.

Harry glided his hand up my thigh and stopped just before my crotch. I was already rock hard when he stopped and I was panting heavily.

"You look so hot when panting and being so red." Harry whispered into my ear and gave it a small lick. I nearly screamed when he did that. He started to squeeze my nipples and told me to sat on the edge so he wouldn't have to hold his breath. I climbed shaking and groaned when Harry immediately took my dick into his mouth.

He hit his head against my belly when trying to give a blowjob and sighed. Instead he started to give a handjob. He painfully slowly started to caress the shaft. He gave the head a lick and made me scream his name.

"Harry, bloody hell. Don't tease. Ah!" I cried when he started to caress it even faster. He licked my belly, heading upwards to lick my nipples. They were tense after his squeezing. I got dizzy when the alcohol was affecting and his caressing made me feel like in heaven.

Harry bent down to grab my whole dick into his mouth, pushing me on the floor so he could do it better way. He grabbed the root of my dick and glided it all the way into his mouth. At the same time he pressed his tongue against it and made me moan in pleasure.

He gave my balls a small bite every once in a while and I felt like I was about to ejaculate when he gave it one and long suck. His mouth was dripping from his drool and my precum and he got up and went to his bag to grab a condom. He said that he was afraid to harm the womb if he would let his seed to pour all the way in.

I rolled the condom on his dick with my mouth. He was already hard and let an enormous groan when I pushed it into my mouth. Harry took his dick out of my mouth and was amazed when he saw the condom in its place.

I bent over and pushed my butt in front of Harry. I leaned on the edge of the pool and Harry slapped my buttocks and caressed them. He licked from my balls to my anus all the way and stopped at the anal entrance and pushed his tongue in slowly. He replaced his tongue with his finger.

"Revenge is sweet. Ah what a beautiful butt." Harry mumbled and pushed another finger in. I knew what he was up to. He pushed his fingers out and took some lubricant and spread it on his fingers. Harry pushed the two fingers back in and took his third finger and pushed it in. I screamed with the pain and realised why Harry had been in pain when I did the same to him.

Harry took his another hand and pumped my dick with it. Pushing his fingers out, he started rimming my anus. I nearly fell over when he did that. Harry pinched my balls and I enjoyed the sensation.

I pleaded that Harry would stick his member in. I wasn't ready at all when he pushed his it in. He had put some lubricant on when lubricating his hands. I let Harry to do the job and pushed my butt a little bit against his dick.

Harry grabbed my hips and started to push in with faster pace. I groaned and took my own dick in my hand and pumped it for a while before I wasn't able to do nothing but enjoy his thrusts. I leaned my head towards my chest and moaned.

"Harry, please. I'm about to cum. Push it all the way in." He gave a couple of thrusts and I came screaming his name. Harry gave one push and he came crying with pleasure. He took his dick out and fell on the bottom of the pool, sitting there. He took the condom off threw it on the floor.

"That was awesome. The pregnancy clearly didn't reduce your sexual drive." Laughed Harry and kissed me on the cheek. "And I hope you are ok." He rubbed my belly and hugged it.

"Thank you, darling. That was the best fuck so far." I panted. Harry smiled and sat next to me. We stayed there, just sitting in silence. Nearly all the bubbles were gone and I suggested that we should wash ourselves and then return to the dormitory. Harry went to empty the pool and we washed ourselves in the shower. Harry washed my back, giving it a massage. The bath had done good to me and it didn't ache that much, even though we had had sex.

We dried ourselves and took our way back to the dormitory. People were already ready to go to sleep. Harry said that he was so sleepy that he's going straight to sleep.

"Only three weeks to go. Wow"

It was nearly the due date for the baby and I was giving a potions lesson for 4th year Gryffindors and Slytherins. My back was aching and I tried my best teaching the students.

"Are you all right, professor?" Asked one Slyhtherin.

"Yes yes. Everything is fine." I answered.

I wasn't ready at all what might happen. Suddenly I felt some liquid in my pants and I was in horrible pain. The amniotic fluid was there now. I fell on the floor and tears were running down my face when I was curled on the floor and holding my belly.

"Professor, professor. What happened?" Came a worried voice next to me. A student had kneeled next to me.

"Go and get professor Potter. Now, please." Someone ran from the classroom and I was helped to stand up and then on my chair. I was shivering and in pain. I buried my face into my hands. I didn't want to show my students how much it hurted.

"Sir, professor is here." Came a call from the door and Harry rushed in. He realised immediately what had happened.

"Oh my. We need to get into St. Mungo immediately. I will ask McGonagall for a portkey so we don't need to move you so much. Can you manage to sit here, waiting?" Harry asked and I nodded. "Ok, class dismissed, students. Could someone stay here with professor Snape until I come back?" One Slytherin told that he will stay and Harry ran out of the classroom.

I stayed there with the student who tried to comfort me. He rubbed my back and told that everything will be alright. I managed to mumble something about being ok. But I knew I was lying. This was one of the very few times when I really needed help. After a while, Harry came back, holding a tea cup that was tranformed into a portkey.

Soon we arrived at St. Mungo's hospital and were rushed into a surgery. They told Harry that he should wait in the waiting room. He frowned but had to obey. I only remember shouting his name and crying my eyes out and then I was asleep.

**Harry in the waiting room**

We just arrived here and Severus was taken immediately to the surgery. And I was forced to wait without knowing what is happening. When that Gryffindor girl ran to me in the middle of my class, I knew we needed to hurry. Severus doesn't often show if something is wrong so I knew we needed to act soon. The student told on our way that the water had come out. I was in horror. I had no idea what to do, except to leave here.

Seeing Severus in so much of a pain was terrible. I was afraid that something would happen when I'm off to see McGonagall. She was having her own lesson and I just told what had happened. We ran to the headmaster's office and got the portkey. Luckily nothing bad had happened meanwhile.

Now I'm sitting here, waiting for news about the baby and Severus. I would have never guessed I would become a father this way. I was sure I would marry Ginny and have kids with her. But I'm far more happier with Severus. He's the most important thing in my life, ever.

I was smiling happily when some nurse came to me and asked if I wanted to have something to eat meanwhile. I said a sandwich would be nice and she went to get some. I flicked through some maternity magazine and thought about all those sleepless nights and diapers. It's going to be rough for both of us. But it's going to be worth it.

The nurse came back carrying a tray. She asked if there was something I would like to know and she could answer.

"I'm just wondering when I will be seeing them?"

"As soon as mr. Snape has woken up. You need to wait a couple of hours. You can walk around if you want. It will take a while."

"Ok, thanks." I answered and she left. I looked after her and remembered that Christmas day when we had been visiting Mr. Weasley here after Nagini had bitten him a few years ago. We lost our way and met Gilderoy Lockhart and Neville, his grandmother and parents. I was wondering if they still were there.

Suddenly I noticed I was heading that way. I thought it would do no harm if I went to see there. I was soon standing in front of their room and noticed Lockhart sitting on his bed. I saw there was some progression and he seemed to be happy, talking to someone. Neville's parents were in the lobby and I went to say hello. They seemed to notice me but not realising who I was.

"I am Harry Potter. We met a few years ago here. I'm a friend of Neville, your son." They were like they didn't understand who I meant. I got tears in my eyes when thinking about what Bellatrix had done to them. Horrible things. They would never be the same again.

I went back to the waiting room, reading some magazine and thinking about Neville's fate. His parents had been crucioed when he had been a small baby. I would never let our baby to have the same fate.

I watched a muggle tv, that had been brought here for some reason. They had some competition going on there. Watching those people doing some dangerous or silly stuff, reminded me of the Triwizard tournament. Although the tasks in it were far more dangerous. No dragons, grindylows, blast ended skrewts, nor portkeys to a graveyard where your enemy tries to kill you. I laughed when they tried to eat some nasty looking food. They should try out dragon balls or Skele-Gro. They would never finish the task.

I must have fallen asleep, as I felt a knock on my shoulder and I was told that Severus had woken up. I got up immediately and followed the nurse to a room where he was waiting for me with the baby. I ran to them, crying for happiness.

**St. Mungo**

I had just woken up and I opened my eyes and I remembered where I was. I wanted to sit up but I didn't have any energy and my belly was hurting. I heard a hello from beside me and a nurse was greeting me with a small packet in her hands, that was our son. She gave me the small boy who had just woken up and was looking at me with his green eyes.

I wallowed with tears running down my face when looking at the tiny creature that had been growing inside me for the last 9 months. He yawned and looked at me. It was like looking into Harry's eyes. He was so adorable. The nurse handed me a milk bottle and told how to feed him. I asked where Harry was and she said that the other nurse had gone to fetch him.

Harry banged the door open and he ran to me. He was crying and hugged me tightly. The little boy started to cry and Harry took him on his arms and started to sing a lullaby. I laughed and he told me to shut it. I giggled and Harry managed to make the boy sleep after a short attempt.

"Next time, darling. Please, don't make so much noise when you enter the room." I begged him. Harry placed the baby in his bed and sat next to me. The little boy was sleeping happily and I was relieved that I got some time with Harry alone. He laid hilself next to me and placed tons of kisses around my face.

"He has my eyes. Now you have my mother's eyes everywhere. And boy, your nose. He's really handsome. Our little boy." Said Harry and hugged me. He said that he's allowed to stay here and that a new teacher will replace him until we will return there.

"I think we should return there next autumn already. I think we can raise him there. He will get used to magic very early on. I think it's the best place for him."

"You're already missing Hogwarts. But I agree that it's better there than in Spinner's End. But now we shall wait until you will get out of here. I will go shopping tomorrow to buy some stuff before we can go home. It's just incredible. We will take our son home. Our own son." Harry smiled and looked at the boy.

During the night I was woken up every hour as the boy was crying out loud. For either the food or a need to change the diaper. When we had to wake up for the third time, Harry was already getting frustrated. I told him that he should get used to this. Harry hid his head under his pillow and started to snore. I sughed and put the baby in his bed. I went for a short walk down the corridor. It was difficult to move after the surgery but I didn't care.

After returning to the room, both Harry and the baby were still asleep. Luckily, we weren't woken up by the baby until morning. I woke up when there was a knock on the door and McGonagall, Ron, Hermione and Draco were standing on the doorway.

"Congratulations to both fathers. We had to come and see you. Where's the little one?" Minerva rushed inside and hugged both of us. Draco was holding a bunch of flowers and told us greetings from the whole school.

"Oh guys. You shouldn't have." Harry started.

"We had to see the little one before you will begin your holidays." Everyone had gathered around the boy and I raised to lift him on my arms.

"He's so little. Look, he has Harry's eyes. Oh, and your nose, professor." Draco beamed at us.

"Yeah, we have noticed that surprisingly." I commented with my usual sarcasm. "But you have to admit that he's lovely."

"What are you planning to do in the autumn? We should start to plan the next term. We have been planning that Miss Granger should come to teach Muggle studies and Mr. Weasley will return to aid his brother with the joke shop. And Mr. Malfoy. Weren't you going to work at the ministry?" Draco nodded. I was surprised. After all, he was a Death Eater for a while. I wasn't surprised at all at Hermione's decision. I started to wonder how their relationship will proceed when they both spend their year in completely different places. I was really lucky that we both taught at Hogwarts. We told about our plans and they wondered where the boy would be when both of us had lessons. We hadn't thought about it at all.

"Maybe I could take care of him when you have your lessons. After all, you don't have lessons simultaneously every time." Suggested McGonagall. "I'm a headmistress and I don't teach. I do have some extra time. We told her that she doesn't need to but she insisted.

I waved my wand and everyone recieved a chair so they could sit down. Draco looked like he was unsure whether he should leave or stay. I told him to stay and he sat down. It was nice to have some company here.

"So you got the fluid out during one class? Didn't you think it was too risky to teach until he was born. Must have been difficult." Said Hermione.

"Yes, that happened. But I didn't want to leave my post too early. I thought I could do it. And I did it. It was difficult with the tummy on my way all the time. Luckily the lesson was going on so I recieved help immediately. The students were a bit worried, I have to admit."

"You are too concerned about your job. All those years in Hogwarts, you did never take a day off whatever happened. Now you really need some rest." McGonagall said.

"I know. Although sometimes I thought that I was insane for teaching all those kids..." The baby started to cry and Ron lifted him up and gave him to me. I got a milk bottle and started to feed him. The boy looked convenient and looked at the people around us.

"I wish we could get ourselves a baby some day. I'm not a father type person but I have to admit that this little fellow is far too sweet." Ron laughed. He let the boy grab his index finger and tickled the baby's hand. "He's so small." Ron sighed.

"Have you thought about the name for him?" Asked Draco suddenly. He had been sitting in silence in the corner for a while now. And Harry raised his gaze too.

"I think we should call him James. Not sure about the middle name though." He said.

"John." I said. I didn't dare to tell them why. It was for Lupin, whose middle name it was. He had been one of my crushes also. Peter had been the only one of Marauders who I didn't fancy. He just wasn't my type at all. Harry stared at me and asked why. I told him that I will tell later on. He nodded to an answer.

"James John Snape then, ay? We have to make sure that he won't become that much of a marauder as his grandfather or a drunk like his another grandfather." Said Harry.

Harry left with our quests and said that he needs to do some shopping and he will take the stuff to Spinner's End. He came to me and kissed me and placed a kiss on James's cheek. He waved goodbye and left the room. I stayed there with the sleeping boy and silence. I was happy to be like that. No people talking or running around me. Just me and the little boy. I sat there and picked up a magazine full of moving pictures of babies. They showed some instructions for taking care of them.

A nurse arrived quite soon and asked where everyone had gone. I told they had left and Harry had gone shopping. She asked whether I would like to go and bath the boy. I was quite eager at the idea and lifted James from his bed and he woke up immediately, looking at me with his eyes and I thought he had just smiled at me. I couldn't hide my smile.

The nurse filled a plastic bath tub for babies and told me how to bath him. I washed James and he looked at me with no blink. He looked at every movement of my face, opening his mouth and the nurse told me that he might want to eat. James took a hold of my finger and didn't let go. He had a very firm grip and only after a while he decided to let go.

Washing him was a really nice experience and I was sorry for Harry not seeing it. I raised James against my shoulder and dried him up. Back in our room, I got another milk bottle and watched the little boy drinking his milk. I was thinking about him growing up and soon moments like this would be rare. He would go to school and get himself a girlfriend or a boyfriend and move to his own house. But luckily there's still a long way to go.

I was already asleep when Harry came back. The day had been long and I saw that Harry was in not so good condition. I asked what had happened when I noticed that he was drunk. I was shocked and asked what was going on.

"I was in this... pub." Harry walked to me wobbling. I had no idea why he had done that. I was afraid that he would hurt me or James. "Don't worry, ay. I bought what I was supposed to buy. And now they are at home." He sat on a chair and looked like he was going to pass out.

I called a nurse and asked what we should do. She took Harry's hand and told me that there is a ward for people in that condition and Harry will be there until he will be in good condition. Once again, I was alone and silence surrounded me. An awesome day had ended like this. What on earth was Harry thinking?

I had hard time trying to fall asleep. The whole night was full of nightmares about Harry's drinking. Myself, I had just got rid of that habit and now Harry did it. Usually they consisted of either of us dying of the drinking problem. I woke up early in the morning, sweating all over and glancing around. Harry hadn't returned yet. James had already woken up and informed me that he requires attention.

I was feeding James when Harry entered. I was furious and he looked like he regretted.

"I'm sorry, Severus. I came here so drunk that I recall nearly nothing. I didn't even know how I managed to find my way here. I'm sorry." Harry had tears in his eyes and he sat on a chair and buried his face in his hands.

"Why did you do that?" I asked and tears appeared in my eyes, too.

"I don't know. First I thought it would be nice to have a drink for James. But then I thought that one wouldn't do and finally I ended up drinking too much. I was thinking about your drinking and thought that maybe I should try how it feels if I get drunk. I know I'm insane."

"Drinking is never an option, Harry. I was afraid that you would hurt me or James. I wish that I would never need any reason to be afraid again. We have to be lucky that drinking is not allowed in Hogwarts anymore. McGonagall told me because of my drinking problem earlier. You are a teacher, Harry. You are an idol to some people. They should never see you in that condition." Harry cried even harder and I thought that he had learned his lecture. I shook my head and concentrated on James instead. I was afraid that this wouldn't be the last time.

**Back home**

Mine and Harry's sad mood was gone the following day when they told us that we can go home from the hospital. Harry was running around, gathering stuff and I was dressing up James who was crying and I tried my best to put his overall on. Harry had gathered all the stuff when I finally managed to put the last piece of clothing on James.

I put the boy in his baby carrier and he started crying. Harry automatically gave me the pacifier and James went silent.

"Never forget the power of these, darling. They will help us a lot." Harry said waving another pacifier in front of my nose.

We had thought about apparating to Spinner's End. I was afraid of hurting us but Harry said he was sure everything would be ok. I wasn't so sure but I decided to give it a try. It was indeed difficult and the baby agreed with me. Apparating was quite powerful way and it made you feel a bit sick. I had to make sure everyone was ok. We were standing in the front yard and Harry was rummaging to find the key.

"Damn, where did I put it?" I sighed and told him to see the pocket of my travelling cloak. "Ah, there it is. What would have happened if we wouldn't have found it? Hogwarts! We should have gone there."

"No, you silly boy. We would have used bombarda and break our way in. But it might have been quite suspicious if the neighbours had seen it. After all, they are muggles and aren't that used to magic." I mumbled and Harry pinched me in my arm, opening the door.

"What have you done in here?" I asked when entering the house. Harry had cleaned up and put some banners hanging from the wall saying "Welcome home". I stared at them in amazement. Harry said he had bought a cradle and some strollers, too. I gave James to Harry and walked around the house. Harry had to admit he had used magic to clean it all up.

"There was too much dust around. I decided to clean it up so that it would be more convenient to return home." I kissed him and didn't let go for a while. I held Harry's head in place and forced my tongue in. Harry nearly melted under my touch and he panted.

"You're welcome. And I love you too." He smiled at me and I smiled back. It felt good to be at home with the whole family. In a few months we would be back at Hogwarts and another year would start. We had to enjoy our holidays while we still could.

The next night was terror as James was keeping us awake for the half of the night. I was happy that we didn't have to work yet. It would be more terrible at Hogwarts. Now I understood why people took maternity leave. No sane person could take care of their baby and their job at the same time.

It was around 3 am when we finally managed to get enough sleep. Harry was talking in his sleep and kept me awake for a while.

"Yes yes, mum. I will take care of the trash and clean up my room." He mumbled. "No, I don't want to do the dishes." I was thinking that the last thing I wanted to hear is how Harry does his homework in his sleep. Finally he stopped the mumbling and I was asleep.

The summer passed by quickly and we decided to pay the Weasleys a visit before returning to Hogwarts. They wanted to see James and also us. They wouldn't be able to see us for a while as we had decided to spend the Christmas in Hogwarts once again.

This time, instead of brooms, we took a portkey. It would be better than apparating. I was unsure everytime we tried a new way to transport all the three of us. Harry checked for the third time that all the diapers and stuff are packed.

"We're not going to spend the rest of the summer there, Harry. So we don't need to pack every single thing we own." I sighed and told him to finish the packing so we could leave already.

Harry still murmured on our way to the portkey. He hadn't eaten anything for breakfast and was complaining about James keeping us up the whole night. Sometimes I wondered how on earth I could tolerate his whining sometimes. Maybe it's just the love. Or maybe I am insane. During the summer, Harry had got a bit more complicated. I didn't know what was happening and he didn't talk about his feelings anymore. Sometimes it was really difficult to cheer him up.

"Oh, welcome Severus and Harry. So good to see you. How is James doing?" Molly ran to us and patted James. She took the boy on her arms and said that it's been a while since she had been holding a baby. They had one granddaughter, Bill and Fleur's, but they had been travelling the whole summer and they hadn't seen the baby yet. "They sent us pictures. She looks pretty. We can show you them later on."

"James really is a mix of you two. You can see who his fathers are." Ginny laughed.

"We should be happy that he didn't inherit the greasiness of my hair, yet."

"It's not that greasy." Harry corrected and headed to the living room. Arthur had seemed to manage to make the television work. I congratulated him for making it even with Harry's advice. Harry pinched me in the elbow and sat grumpily in an armchair.

"I watched that television show while waiting Severus to get out of the surgery. They are really insane. But those tasks are far from the tasks I did at the Triwizard Tournament." We watched it for a few minutes in silence. They were eating some eyes of an animal. I was ready to puke although I was used to weird ingredients when making potions.

"And dad is fascinated of that. This is his favourite program. Muggles doing something they would never do." George said. "Ginny likes all those movies and nature programs. I and Ron are into comedy stuff and mom likes cooking programs. There is something for all of us. You should get one too, guys."

"No, thanks. We are spending most of the year in Hogwarts anyway. I don't know what would happen if we had a television in our dormitory. The whole school would be watching something like this. No way." The others laughed and Harry suggested that we could give it a try.

It was time to feed James and I handed the bottle to Molly who was still holding James. She watched James with a huge grin and was talking to him. James looked at her and babbled something to her. She laughed and gave James to Harry. She said she'll go and get the photos of Bill and Fleur's baby.

"You should have seen her when we got the information that the baby girl was born. She insisted that we should have a party for that. After we came back from the hospital, seeing you, she surrounded us and asked all the questions she could come up with. Well, she has to wait until there will be another baby. Fred still doesn't have a girlfriend and I don't want to have babies yet." Ron told us.

Molly came back with a bunch of photos. She handed them to us and we watched a young pair holding their first baby on her first day and waving to the camera. She was as tiny as James. She had quite a few Fleur's characteristics but his father's red hair.

"She's so cute. Maybe James and her could become friends in Hogwarts." Harry got enthusiastic. "What's her name?"

"Fiona Mary Weasley. Sounds a bit weird to me." Said Ginny. She never had been friends with Fleur. "I just have to get used to it. I'm an aunt, bloody hell!" She started to sound like Ron when she said that.

"Don't worry. You are accompanied by few uncles." Ron said.

"Don't be silly, kids. You should be happy for that. You don't have any siblings, Severus?" Asked Arthur.

"No. I think I was enough for my parents. My dad never wasn't a fatherly type. Hogwarts was more of a home to me than Spinner's End. I was also born there." This was news to Harry also. I had never mentioned that. I had lived all my life in the same village, surrounded by muggles.

"Oh. Would you like to have a cup of tea?" Molly asked and Harry told that it would be nice. I said I will if Harry will.

Harry put James on his planket on the floor and people surrounded him immediately. Everyone was tickling him and making funny faces. It was fun to watch James growing. Soon he would be in Hogwarts and be taught by me and Harry amongst the others. I drifted into my thoughts once again and was called back by Molly bringing tea.

I took my mug and sat there watching outside from the window. Soon we would be on our way to Hogwarts to spend another year of teaching kids. Weasley's owl knocked on the window and Molly went to catch the letter.

"Oh, Ginny dear. It's your Hogwarts letter. Oh my, these kids grow so fast. My youngest one starts her last year in Hogwarts. It's been ages since Charlie left the school."

"It will be an awesome day when James starts Hogwarts. Although he will be raised there amongst the students. It will be a great place to grow up." Harry said.

"I just hope that you will have time to spend with him. Arthur said I was too much into my job when Charlie was born. I did it better when the twins were born." An akward silence filled the room. George coughed and left the living room.

"He is the one who never gets over Fred's death. He was born as a twin and now he's alone. I only hope that he'll find himself some love and live happily ever after." Molly sighed.

"He will, Molly. You just have to wait." I told her. Harry took James and suggested that we should get going. James was already getting grumpy and sleepy. I agreed and we left the house.

"We'll meet them when we get back next summer. We won't be seeing new Weasleys in Hogwarts for the next 11 years. Feels funny as I've grown up with them." Harry said when we were out of the house.

"You say. I've been teaching all their kids. Maybe you will teach all their grandchildren."

"You're not going to retire, do you?"

"No. I will teach until I am very old. I want to teach James all the way through in Hogwarts."

**James arrives at Hogwarts**

"Oh, get on, Severus. We should be going soon. The portkey is scheduled in an hour. I'm ready with James."

"I nearly forgot my teaching robes. Damn, it was at the back of the wardrobe. Why on earth I didn't take it off when leaving Hogwarts the last time." I hadn't had time to change my clothes when leaving urgently to St. Mungo. I grabbed my trunk and followed Harry outside. It was a windy day and the autumn was coming.

I put my travelling cloak tighter when we walked towards the portkey place. Harry was hurrying and I told him to slow down so I could catch him up with James. Harry was pulling our trunks and telling me to hurry up. It was only a minute before the portkey transferred us to the grounds of Hogwarts.

"Welcome to your new home, James." Harry said. "And welcome back, Severus" He smiled at us and I sighed in relief. I was here at last. It had been difficult summer, trying to learn to take care of James. Now I had something else to do, also. McGonagall had agreed to take care of him while we had lessons as she didn't teach at the moment.

We met quite a few other teachers while walking towards our dormitory. They all wanted to know about James and were congratulating us. After quite a few stops we managed to enter our room. Harry had ordered house-elves to bring a baby bed for James. Harry hurried to it and said that it was just as he had told them as the elves had made it themselves.

"Nice work, I have to admit." I said and looked at the wooden bed with carvings in it. On one end it said James. I smiled and told Harry that it looked great. Harry said that he has to thank the elves for making it.

The feast was the following day and we had a discussion with Harry about whether we could take James there with us. But finally we decided that we had no other option. I grabbed the boy and we walked towards the Great Hall, hand in hand with Harry. People were heading there and we noticed the group of first years and they looked at us in amazement. Well... Two men and one baby. It must look quite extraordinary.

I let Harry take James on his lap and we watched all those scared and excitred students being sorted. Hermione was also there as she's teaching the muggle studies. Harry waved at her and took a huge amount of food on his plate, holding James and his milk bottle at the same time.

"I already missed all this food." Harry mumbled with his mouth full. James was crying and I told Harry to feed him, too. Harry placed James on my lap and grumpily said that maybe I should do it. I sighed and did as I was told. Harry sat in silence for the rest of the feast and disappeared after the feast and left us sitting there with the teachers and staff.

I told McGonagall about our schedule for the following day and she said that we could bring James just before the first lesson starts. I went after Harry and didn't see him on my way to the dormitory and neither he was there.

I decided to let Harry be on his own for now. I started to sing some lullaby to James. I knew only one and this was the first time I tried to sing it to him. The boy looked at me with no blink and started to fall asleep slowly. I placed the sleeping boy in his bed and decided it was time to go to bed.

After a few hours, the door was opened and I woke up.

"Harry. Where have you been?"

"In the library. Just go to sleep." Harry walked to me and undressed. "Goodnight." He said and laid on the bed and started to snore. I stared at him. Harry had got quite weird lately. He sometimes did some things he would never tell me. I had no idea what he was thinking and neither did he want to tell me about it.

After a couple of hours James had woken up and decided that we shouldn't sleep either.

"Oh. Severus. Could you make him stop crying? I want to sleep." Harry complained and I suggested if he could help me but he clearly wasn't that interested. He hid his head under the pillow and murmured about the noise. I was astonished. I needed help with James. After finally getting him to sleep, I sat on the armchair and only stared at the opposite wall. This was getting nightmare 'ish.

"Morning, sunshine. How come you didn't sleep in the bed with me. I'm sorry for my grumpiness yesterday. Our first lessons start soon. McGonagall will come and get James. I love you." Harry said and kissed me. I said I'll forgive him but I was afraid that this will continue.

"Good morning, boys. I came to see James. Oh, there you are. Minerva will take good care of you while your fathers are teaching." She said and wished us a nice day.

"Some silence finally. Don't need to be worried about the boy. McGonagall will take good care of him." Harry said. "I think we should leave too." I asked about the breakfast and Harry said that it had already ended. He didn't dare to wake me up. I looked at him angrily and thought maybe I should go to the kitchens and have something to eat after the first lessons.

The first lesson was for first-year Rawenclaws and Hufflepuffs. They all looked excited. It was funny how people's reactions changed towards me after the war. I was nearly as famous as Harry now. I had to explain the whole Harry and James stuff for all the first-years once again. I felt lucky that I didn't need to explain to the elder students.

"By monday morning, bring me one parchment on the usage of moonstone." I called the class before they headed to their next class.

"We have a lesson with professor Potter. I heard he's a brilliant professor, just like you." One Hufflepuff boy said.

"Yes, he's great. He really knows how to fly. Listen to him carefully." I told him and the boy nodded and left. I had one lesson off and I thought I was hungry enough to go to the kitchens. It would take a couple of hours before the lunch is about to start.

My tummy was moaning on my way and I saw some kids giggling when they saw me. Without hesitating, I took points from Gryffindor. They really were Gryffindors. They complained but I was happy. That was my first time this year when I took points from them. I still remembered what I had promised Harry so I had to restrain myself.

When I entered the kitchen, the elves were already preparing lunch. I asked for a sandwich and they asked what kind of a sandwich. I suggested some with ham. Soon they hurried me a big, nice sandwich. I sat there and watched the tiny elves doing their job. They never wanted any salary or anything. They were honoured of doing this.

After the last lesson of the day, Harry entered the classroom with James and told me to hurry up and have a dinner. He was eagerly telling me that he had been having a walk with James around the castle. He had shown James everything he could come up with. The boy had been doing well with McGonagall. I wondered how on earth she had time to spend with James.

James's first birthday was spent in Hogwarts. Harry wanted to spend it with everyone who wanted to participate in the party. I shook my head and told that maybe we should consider spending it only with the three of us. But Harry had already made his decision. He spread the news at the lunch time. I sighed and banged my head on the table. I wanted it to be a small party. Harry said he had reserved one big classroom and ordered house-elves to make some food.

"Seriously. Are you sane? It's only a birthday for him. It doesn't matter whether there will be few or few hundred people. He won't notice anything anyway. If you asked him years later what he thought of his first bírthday, he could tell you nothing." I told him and Harry sighed and pushed a huge amout of mashed potatoes in his mouth.

James was babbling in my lap and pulled my hair. I hadn't cut it for a while and now it was going halfway down my arm. I thought that maybe I should really cut it. Although Harry said that I looked better with this lenght. I said I look too much like Dumbledore soon.

We went back to the dormitory and Harry suggested that I should change my teaching clothes to something formal. I said that this is the most formal clothing I own, besides my wedding suit. And I really didn't want to wear that one. Harry dressed James in some baby sailor suit and I thought that he looks really cute. I ended up rummaging some old blouse and jeans from my wardrobe. Harry still complained but agreed that I could wear them.

The elves had decorated the classroom with some banners with texts like "Happy birthday, James". I told Harry that maybe they didn't need to decorate it that much. With all those balloons and fairies flying around. Harry instead was happily running around the room and checking everything.

Suddenly we were surrounded by at least 50 people. I told Harry that we really should have kept the party amongst only a few other people. Only a small part of them were Slytherins, mostly Gryffindors. Nearly all the teachers were there. It was really packed and I tried to say hello to everyone. Harry was following me and waving to people. James was under his arm and I warned Harry not to drop him.

"Okey. Welcome, everyone to James's first birthday party. Severus said that we needed a smaller party, but I 's quite nice with all of you here. At least it won't get any cold." Harry laughed. "But enjoy yourselves. The cake will arrive soon and you can grab your slices immediately. Have fun!"

Harry ended his speech and came to me.

"Let's try to speak with as many people as possible so they won't feel neglected." Harry winked and kissed me deep.

"Nice to be here, at your party. Although you wanted to have a smaller one. Good snacks here. How is James doing?" Asked Hagrid.

"He's doing great. But his growing teeth are hell to us as he cries a lot with them. He has at least started to learn to walk. Soon we don't need to carry him all the time. It's nice to see him growing." Harry said.

"Yeah, he's a big boy. I hope he will become as intelligent and good as his fathers." Hagrid gazed at the boy who was chewing his chewable toy. It helped with the teeth. Hagrid tickled James gently and James giggled.

"Seems like the cake has arrived." Harry whispered. It was an enormous cake made in the form of a snitch and a cauldron. It felt like James was about to become the next potions master and be good at Quidditch. That would be nice, actually.

"Good day to you, my boys." Sir Nicholas came to us. "So young boy, he is. I don't recall the day when I was a small boy. It was really long time ago. Have you thought about the next year? Are you going to do it the same way as this year? Spending it here, in Hogwarts."

"Yes. We think that this is a really nice place for him to grow up. We don't want to give him a life without magic around him." Harry said.

"It's a real pleasure to have you here." Sir Nicholas bowed and left humming happy birthday. I walked around while Harry stopped to talk with some of his friends. I was surprised to see Draco with Lucius and Narcissa there.

"Harry wanted to invite us. And my parents were enthusiastic to see James." Draco told me.

"Severus." Lucius shook my hand. "Congratulations on becoming a father."

"It's so good to see you. I would have never guessed you would give a birth to a baby." Narcissa said.

"I would have never believed it either. Harry has been a good father. Although sometimes he hasn't been so interested. I have to thank McGonagall for taking care of James when we have lessons."

"We saw quite a few people here. Miss Granger and Mr Weasley as well." Lucius said. He still sounded a bit like he didn't like the idea of muggle-borns. "Didn't they get engaged?"

"Yes, the same day when we got married." Suddenly the pair appeared and told that they had been thinking about the marriage.

"All thisparty stuff made us think more about it. Seeing you two happy together..." Ron said. I was thinking that sometimes it wasn't that happy at all. Harry had been quite moody lately and angry. It wasn't easy for me at all. I was about to complain until Harry arrived.

"Just heard about your plans. Just go for it. It sounds great. Severus, maybe we shall call it a day and give our guests a thank you." Harry kissed me and informed the guests that the party is over, for now.

**Not the way we wanted it**

It was a warm day in Spinner's End. James was 7 years old and it was Harry's birthday. It was the first time I wanted to take James to Diagon Alley to buy some stuff for the birthday. I hadn't bought the present yet. I had told Harry that we should be back in the evening.

"Daddy, how are we going to get there?" James asked.

"I thought we should try the Knight Bus. Dad said that it's quite a scary bus. But we shall give it a try." We walked by the sidewalk and I raised my wand hand. There was a loud bang and a purple bus appeared in front of us.

"Welcome to the Knight Bus. My name is Stan Shunpike and I'll be your conductor today." He looked at us. "Welcome mr. Snape and young mr. Snape. Come on, get on." We stepped inside and I paid for the ride. Stan told us to sit down properly. I was wondering why but as the bus took off, I understood completely. And at the same time I figured out why Harry had warned me.

James was screaming happily and having a laugh. I was ready to jump out of the bus but I had no other chance to get to the Diagon Alley at the moment. The bus was turning around the corners quickly and it was apparating every once in a while, leaving people to their destinations. James got up and went to the front to talk with Stan. I ran after him and just in time grabbed him before the bus took a sharp turn.

"You should be careful, young man. Ern doesn't know the term "take it easy"." Stan laughed. I told James to sit down and not stand up until we were in London.

"Daddy, you're not fun. I like this bus. Can we take it some day again?" I looked at him in horror and said that we can think about it. I grimaced and thought that I'll use this never again.

"This boy really knows how to have fun, mr. Snape." Stan said. I smirked at him and held James after the bus took a turn once more. "We are lucky that muggles don't see the bus. Their police would stop us in no time."

"I wonder why." I grimaced. Finally we saw Leaky Cauldron from the window and I rushed outside, James followed after me. I nearly puked when I finally reached the ground. I wasn't sure how to get back home and the bus seemed the best way.

"That was cool, daddy. Can we try it again when we go home?"

"We shall consider." I took James's hand and wobbled inside the Leaky Cauldron. Tom welcomed us and asked if we wanted to have a room. I said no, thanks and told that we were only going shopping for Harry's birthday.

"Oh my, give him my best greetings, please. How old will he be now?"

"26. So young. I feel myself old. I am 46."

"You're still very young, mr. Snape. I am much older." He smiled and I told that we shall give Harry his birthday wishes. We walked to the backyard and James stared at the wall in amazement when I opened the wall with my wand. He had seen enough magic at home but this was new to him.

"When am I going to study at Hogwarts?" He asked when we walked towards our next shop.

"You still have to wait 4 years, James." I said. "You nearly live there but you will have your first lessons then. You will like it, don't worry."

"I like Hogwarts. And everyone there. Professor McGonagall is so nice to me all the time."

"She is like a grandmother to you." I told him and we walked inside the sweets shop. I was used to buy some candies for Harry everytime I visited Diagon Alley.

"Chocolate frogs! Can you buy me some, daddy?" This is why I don't like going shopping with kids. You should buy everything they can come up with. I shook my head and told him to find a lollipop instead. They would be cheaper. James came back with a huge lollipop with changing flavour. I sighed but had to agree that the boy knew how to trick me. I was about to tell him to forget it but he had already gone to the desk with my wallet. How did he get that one?

"Thanks for this,daddy." James smiled.

"Where did you get my wallet?"

"From the pocket of your robes, of course. Don't be silly."

"Stealing is a bad thing and you should never do that." I raised my voice and people turned around to look at me. They must have thought that I am a bad father for letting James steal. I told him to be quiet and we shall talk later on. I grabbed my wallet from his hand and went to pay for the candies. I stormed out, followed by James.

I halted outside and stopped James and I looked furious.

"You are not allowed to do that, ever. I will not tolerate this. You will have no candies for another couple of weeks. You need to understand that stealing is really terrible thing." I was ready to run out of Diagon Alley with James but decided that we still had shopping to do. James was looking at me like he didn't get my idea. I hid my wallet better inside my robes and ordered him to follow.

"Can I have a broom or a wand, daddy? You and dad have those too."

"No wand for you until you are going to study in Hogwarts. I promised dad that I will buy you a toy broom. You can't get a real one." James sulked and I told that he needs to wait but I will pay for a toy broom. James got a bit chirpier and ran to the broom shop.

"We would like to buy a toy broom for my son. He's too young to have a real one. He has been trying our brooms but I thought he could have his own." I told and soon I was holding a toy broom that didn't fly so high but it was like a real broom. Only far more easier to control. James was jumping in front of me and telling me that he can carry it. I was terrified when I saw the price and told James that I wasn't going to buy any more new things to him this time.

I remembered Harry receiving some kind of a broom polishing kit from his friend some years back and asked if they still had those. I wanted to buy one for him. He had just got himself a new broom and was eagerly flying around all the time. James had been jealous because he couldn't fly one yet so maybe now he could be ok with it.

Harry had just lost his beloved owl, Lily as she had caught some illness that couldn't be cured. They guessed that she might have got bitten by some animal. Harry had been extremely sad and I had considered buying him a new one. He got one for his 11th borthday so now it was time for his 26th birthday.

James ran to a corner filled with different owls. He pointed at a grey and big owl who was sleeping.

"That one."

"Are you sure? He seems quite sleepy kind of an owl." But James was completely sure and went to caress the owl. He woke up and was hooting happily when getting some attention. I looked at two of them for a while and thought that the problem had been settled. James was carrying him along with his broom. I told him that I could carry the owl but James told he could do it.

There was still one shop left but before that, James insisted that we should stop at the ice cream bar. He headed to select the flavour. I said that I will do without the ice cream and gave the boy the money to buy one.

"You should have got one, too. This tastes great." James said with his mouth full of ice cream.

"First eat your mouthful and then you can say what you have to say. This is said to be the best ice cream bar in the wizarding world. I visited this once with your grandmother when we were students."

"You are old, daddy. Why did you come here?"

"We wanted to celebrate her birthday. We were so young. And she was my best friend."

"Now, we are celebrating dad's birthday and he's not here. He should have come." James said and I thought he was right. But Harry had decided to stay at home. He said he wants us to have some time together. We both went silent and I told James that Harry will be very happy when we get home and can celebrate together.

"I already miss dad. Are we going home soon?"

"There's one shop left. I promised dad to buy him some new Quidditch book."

"I want to become a Quidditch player, too. Maybe a seeker." He gave a smile and I smiled back. I wanted to see him making his dream come true.

We headed to the bookstore and after getting out, James was asking if he could read the book as well. I said that if Harry promises him. He was already asking about the Knight bus. He was so enthusiastic about it that I agreed.

"Welcome back. We already waited to see you again. The young man seemed so interested in this bus." I mumbled back that only he was. I got a bit used to loud bangs and sharp turns. James was laughing and swaying back and forth when the bus pulled a break.

"James. Remind me that I have to reconsider next time when I think about taking this bus."

I was shalking when we got out. Stan Shunpike was telling us to take the bus next time as well.

"You wish." I whispered.

We arrived at home and I dropped the bags on the kitchen table.

"Honey, we're home." I shouted. "Go and look for dad, James please."

"Ok, daddy."

I startedto unpack and was happy what we had found. I looked at the toy broom and smiled. James was already like a Quidditch hero to us. He had been insisting on trying our brooms. I once let him try mine without my help.

"DADDY!" Came a horrible scream from the bathroom. I ran to the bathroom and James was kneeling over something on the floor. I dropped to my knees when I saw Harry lying on his back on the floor and not moving.

I told James to move. My hand was shaking badly when I tried to wake him up. He didn't react and I tried to take his pulse. None was found. Tears were starting to run down my cheeks. I couldn't feel him breathing either. I collapsed next to Harry and cried out loud. I couldn't believe what had happened. James was sitting next to me and crying his eyes out. I placed my arms around him and let him cry on my shoulder.

I took Harry's dead body and hugged it the same way I did with Lily's body. It made me cry even louder. The warmth of the body had gone and I was holding a body of my beloved husband. James looked at me and I gave Harry one last kiss. I put his body gently on the floor.

Soon I noticed a small medicine bottle and a bottle of very strong alcohol. I realised what had happened. An overdose of pills and alcohol had been too much. I noticed a paper next to the bottles. It was a letter, from Harry. My hands were shaking uncontrollably when I read it and I started to cry even harder.

"_Dear Severus,_

_I will be dead when you read this. I wanted to skip the trip to Diagon Alley so I could finish my life. I didn't want to do it in front of you. I went to buy some pills and alcohol and decided it was the way I wanted to end my life._

_I didn't want to hurt you nor James. I am really sorry for being an asshole for the last few years. I hurted you both mentally. I didn't know what was happening to me. I started to become more and more depressed and I realise I wasn't much of a use like this._

_Take care of James. Be a good father to him. I could never be one._

_Always yours,_

_Harry"_

Tears had stained the paper when Harry had been writing it. You could barely read the text. I knew there had been something wrong with him but I never had been able to help him. I started to blame myself for trying to make him to take more care of James and asking too much of him, letting him to become a teacher, not giving him enough love. Not being a good husband.

I told James to stay with Harry and said that I will ghet some help from St. Mungo. I couldn't leave Harry there. I took a floo network to the hospital. My sight was blurred when I walked to the reception and my eyes must have been really red. I could hardly speak.

"I... I came here to inform that Harry Potter has died and I need help with his body." I said with only one breath.

"Excuse me? Harry Potter... Dead?" I nodded and told shortly what had happened. The receptionist was teary eyed too. After all, it was the legend who was gone.

"I will call the healers and they will follow you to your house and take care of the body until the funeral. They will discuss more about it when you get back home. I am really sorry to hear about him. My condolences, mr. Snape. These are terrible news to the whole wizarding world." I thanked her and waited 'till the healers came. Meanwhile I was sitting there, completely in my own world, not realising what is happening around me. I felt quilty for leaving James alone with his dead father.

"Mr. Snape. We are ready. Shall we leave?" Two male healers were standing in fron of me and they had to help me stand up while crying out loud.

"James. Are you alright?" I asked when we arrived home and James was sitting around the kitchen table and staring at his knees.

"Sorry, I couldn't stay in the bathroom. Dad is still there."

"It's ok, James. Don't worry." I kissed his forehead and hugged him tightly. Meanwhile the healers were checking Harry out. After a while they came back. James was nearly falling asleep on my lap and I was still very teary.

"We counted that he died around the midday. Overdose of alcohol and powerful sleeping pills. It's quite unusual that he has got hold of those. We will be taking his body to St. Mungos. We only need to know when you are going to have the funeral."

"It would have been his birthday." I cried and told that in a week would be ok. They thanked and I went after them to help with Harry.

The put Harry's body on a stretcher and covered him with a white sheet. When they walked towards the door, I held Harry's cold hand and placed a kiss on the palm of his hand. This was about to be the last time he leaves this house. James was holding my hand and he he walked beside me, looking shocked. After they were gone, an akward silence filled the room. Only our sobbings made it clear that there were people in the house.

"Go and get some sleep, James. You really need it. I will stay awake for a while."

"Come and wait until I fall asleep, please." James teary eyes looked at me and I decided that he needed support so I followed him upstairs.

I covered James with his blanket and gave him a goodnight kiss.

"Don't worry. I'll be here until you fall asleep."

"Why did dad do that?" James asked suddenly.

"I don't know for sure, James. He wasn't alright. He must have been ill in some way." I told and didn't dare to tell him that he had been mentally very ill and did a suicide. I don't know whether James understood that Harry had killed himself in purpose. I didn't want to tell him until he would be older in order to understand.

"Did dad hate us?" He asked.

"No. He loved us very much. We meant a great deal to him. After all, we were his family. He never really got one. His parents died when he was so young."

"I wish I had grandparents."

"So do I. But everyone at Hogwarts consider you as their family. We all are one big family."

"I miss dad."

"So do I."

James fell asleep crying. I could do nothing but let myself to cry also. It was too terrible to think what had happened. For the first time I started to realise that I was alone with James and there would be no one to love me as a husband. Everyone I used to love or have a crush on, had died. Harry, his father, Lupin, Sirius... Lily.

I went downstairs and to the bathroom where the alcohol bottle was still on the floor. I noticed that there was still some left. I stared at it and lifted it up. It was very strong one and I thought that it would do no harm to try it. After all, I felt so terrible that I had to drown my sorrow. I heard Harry's voice in my head telling me not to do it. But I thought that I deserved this.

I sat around the table and opened the bottle. The fluid was clear and I didn't know what kind of an alcohol it was. I didn't care, only that it would make me drunk. I took a long sip of it and it went in my head immediately. The warm feeling filled me up and I felt far better now.

I started to realise why Harry had taken this. He would feel nothing when his heart stops beating. Maybe I should try that too, I thought. But I realised that I couldn't leave James alone. His life would be difficult enough without Harry being around.

But the idea of an easy end was quite tempting. I took another sip and started to feel dizzy. I laughed when thought about what could be done with this bottle. But my head told me that James needed me. But he would manage, living in Hogwarts with all the students and staff around him. And I could be with Harry forever.

My only reason to stop drinking was Harry. Now he was gone, so I was completely free to drink as much as I wanted. No one was there to stop me.

"Daddy, why are you here? What is that bottle?" There was someone and that someone was standing on the doorway in his pyjama.

"Go to sleep, James. Now!" I looked at him agrily and James stared to cry. I had scared him. Maybe he was afraid that he would lose me, too. Just like he had lost Harry. "I said, now!" I nearly shouted and raised my hand. I was about to hit the boy but James ran back upstairs crying out loud just in time before I would have done something awful.

I buried my face in my hands and sobbed. I realised that I could be no worse of a father than Harry was. I was a terrible one. I drink and shout at him. I started to feel like my own father. I thought that I should never give James a childhood like that. He was the only meaningful thing in my life now. The other one had died.

I emptied the bottle down my throat and in the morning I found myself sleeping at the table. James was standing in front of me and looking sad.

"Why?" He asked.

"I shouldn't have done that. I feel really bad that I shouted at you. Losing your dad made me feel terrible. I wanted to feel better and I drank some of that drink." I pointed to the bottle. James went to get the bottle and threw it in the trash bin.

"You are mean, daddy." He said and left the room. I decided not to follow him and let him live over it. I realised that I did an awful thing, letting him see me drinking and shouting at him.

During the dinner time, we finally recieved a copy of the Daily Prophet. The owl bringing it, was carrying a huge packet. I opened it and saw a special articles about Harry. They had been quick. I had given St Mungo the agreement that they can inform the newspaper.

James sat next to me and looked at the newspaper.

"Why is dad there?"

"He was famous. We haven't told you much about his past yet. I think it would be time for you to know. Here are some old articles about him and professor McGonagall writing a memoir for him. And some old quotes from different people giving their opinion about your father's actions." I explained. I thought it would be a time to tell everything about Harry's past. Or at least most of it. James only knew that Harry's parents had died when he was very young and he had lived with his relatives.

"Your father was born 26 years ago. His parents were famous wizard and witch and very talented. There was a bad wizard, who we called Voldemort. He wanted to kill them because there was a prophecy that he should kill their son, or some boy who was born around the same time. Voldemort went and killed them. Hagrid, the Hogwarts teacher, brought your father to his aunt and uncle so he would be safe.

He didn't know that he was famous. Voldemort had tried to kill him also but he survived. His mother loved him so much that he couldn't be killed. Voldemort disappeared and he came back after 13 years.

During all those years when he studied at Hogwarts, I helped him to learn to fight against Voldemort and saved his life once as well. I was always on his side even though he didn't believe it." I wasn't ready to tell that I had worked for Voldemort. There would be time when he will hear about it.

"8 years ago, Voldemort had gathered himself an enormous group of supporters and they attacked to Hogwarts school to kill your father and demand the others to join him. But finally your father managed to defeat him. That's why he is famous."

"Wow. Are you proud of him? I am."

"Yes, I am very much. He was the boy who lived, that's what they called him." I looked at the front page that said "Harry Potter, the boy who died". I laughed at the header but thought that the worst fear had come true. Our saviour was gone, dead. James wanted to hear the story again and again. He said that he felt like he was the son of someone who really saved the whole world.

The week passed by and we were about to leave to the funeral. We had decided to bury Harry in Godric's Hollow's graveyard, next to his parents. I felt dizzy when I helped James to dress up his suit. It was a terrible feeling, to bury someone who has been very special to you for all these years. We walked in silence towards the portkey that would take us there. We had invited the Weasleys and some Hogwarts teachers. We were sure that there would be quite a few outsiders watching the burial but only them were invited to the memorial service that would be held in our home afterwards.

I had cut my hair very short. It was kind of like a change in my life, just like Harry's death had been. For nearly all my life I had had long hair and now it felt like it was time to change it. James said that he liked my long hair better. I agreed.

We walked towards the graveyard and saw some other people arriving. I was holding a bouquet of lilies an roses and as I saw the graveyard tears were running down my face. James went to hug all the others and they came to give their condolences. James seemed to be quite ok with the situation. Maybe he didn't react in that bad way as all the adults. He hadn't experienced any death around him so far. This was a big thing for us all.

Harry's coffin laid next to the open grave and the priest asked if we wanted the cover to be open. I said yes and went to see Harry for the last time. His face was skrawny and his skin had lost all its colour. His scar was now even more visible against the sallow skin. James started to cry next to me and I guided him away from the coffin and comforted him.

The priest consecrated Harry and he and few other people lowered the coffin to the bottom of the grave with their wands. I watched the coffin sank and realised that this would be the last time I would see any part of him. After the coffin was in the grave, the priest asked if I wanted to have a speech. I nodded and walked towards the grave. I dropped the bouquet on top of the coffin and cleared my throat. It was completely dry from crying and it took a while that I'd be able to talk.

"Welcome, all the friends and family, to the burial of our boy who lived.

We thought he would never die but we were wrong. He brought us hope all those years when he fought against Voldemort. His energy was overflowing and he made us smile and cry for him.

Without Harry I wouldn't be here. I don't know where he would be if he hadn't saved my life. He did it for love. All those years had passed without us being able to tell each other about our feelings for each other. Then it was time to bring it up and we ended up living together, raising a child and love each other. He was a good father and a husband but he didn't believe in himself enough. He said he wanted us to be happy.

And now we are standing here, beside his grave, mourning the boy who died. We will miss him a lot. He was an idol to us. He gave us hope and love.

Now after my speech, I would like to read a bit from the book, the muggles call bible. It's from page 394...

_{28:1} The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the_

_righteous are bold as a lion. {28:2} For the transgression of_

_a land many [are] the princes thereof: but by a man of_

_understanding [and] knowledge the state [thereof] shall be_

_prolonged. {28:3} A poor man that oppresseth the poor [is_

_like] a sweeping rain which leaveth no food. {28:4} They_

_that forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the_

_law contend with them. {28:5} Evil men understand not_

_judgment: but they that seek the LORD understand all_

_[things. ]{28:6}_

_(King James Bible)_

I watched people shedding tears and James ran to me and I lifted him up and told people that we will stay for a while and they can go ahead.

"Daddy, are we going to see dad ever again?"

"No, James, we aren't. But he will be in here," I pointed at his heart. "Always."

**Afterword**

James was sorted into Slytherin as you might have guessed. He became friends with Ted Lupin who was one year older.

He became Slytherin's seeker, just as he had wanted.

Snape continued teaching potions and being head of Slytherin.


End file.
